


Come in with the Rain

by itsaroosterteeththing



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Fluff, GET IT, Hand Jobs, I GUESS MATURE?, I MEAN THERE'S SOME HANDY STUFF, I have no idea, I'm not a very good writer oh well, M/M, Slow Build, Teachers, Teen and up?, They're both teachers and dammit if they're not pretty great in their own way, dammit I hope for fluff, handy - Freeform, i guess, i'm so funny, mature?, please enjoy, teaching au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-11
Updated: 2014-06-06
Packaged: 2018-01-18 22:35:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 41,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1445350
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itsaroosterteeththing/pseuds/itsaroosterteeththing
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Levi attends work one day and does not expect the incessant chatter and noise that seems to have transfigured the other teachers into gossiping old women. However Levi isn't so sure that the obnoxious noise wasn't called for when he meets the subject of the entire English base's - except for perhaps Jean, but the kid had a stick up his ass anyway - affections. Dammit did he have bright eyes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Coffee Fixes and Bright Eyes

**Author's Note:**

> Oh gosh. this is my first piece of writing for SNK and I truly have no idea what I'm doing (I don't know what I'm doing in any other piece of writing either, so I guess this shouldn't be much different). Here's hoping you guys enjoy it as much as I enjoy writing it. Complaints, constructive criticism, and anything else is completely welcome and encouraged. Please tell me if I do something wrong, which I inevitably will.

The teachers’ lounge this morning was alive with excited chatter and Levi wasn’t accustomed to this amount of cheer this early in the morning. Their incessant excitement and conversation was usually saved for lunch, allowing Levi to at least get his caffeine fix before they decided to force Levi down the path of reckless and merciless homicide. However, for now Levi resigned himself to sitting with his cup of coffee and sitting next to one of the less annoying English teachers, who was surprisingly just as annoying as the others, just slightly more tolerable to Levi. He momentarily asked himself why he could put up with Erwin, and could only decide that it was his own shitty determination to be Levi’s friend along with shitty-glasses. _The fucking Psycho,_ if a thought like that could be endearing, that’s certainly the way that Levi meant the comment about Hanji, a Biology teacher that dabbled in physics and chemistry when she had the mind to, to come across. Levi was being pulled from his thoughts by a deep voice that Levi knew had _all_ the teenage girls swooning over it. Mostly because they wouldn’t shut up about it in his class, complaining that they hadn’t received him as a teacher this semester. _Well fuck you too._

“Really, Levi, you should smile every once in a while.” Levi glared him down and made a show of raising the corners of his lips excruciatingly, keeping the stony cold glare fixed onto Erwin’s own soft blue eyes. They widened and a look of pure horror passes his face momentarily, Levi considers a smirk, but thinks better of it. Better not let the asshole believe that he enjoys watching Erwin suffer. Said man waves his hands in front of his face, laughing to himself. “Okay, okay. Never do that again” Erwin peeks a look at Levi and, seemingly happy with the usual glower on his face, drops his arms to his sides. “You seem positively chipper this morning” Erwin comments, leaning back into the sofa, raising a questioning eyebrow. Levi ponders over the probability of him finding someone with bigger eyebrows before answering.

“Your observational skills are simply ground-breaking; you should join Hanji in the science lounge.” Levi said humourlessly, however still managed to grab a laugh from the blond haired man to his right. Levi sighed and drank his coffee, letting the caffeine hit his blood stream. Erwin and Hanji weren’t all that bad, or bad at all if Levi was being completely honest with himself, they were just so god damned chipper all the time.

“I’m sure she’d love that” Erwin returns. Levi frowned at that, and frowned down at his coffee. This piece of shit school couldn’t even afford decent coffee. Levi scowled before turning back to Erwin, pushing the offending cup of coffee away from himself on the coffee table in front of the sofa.

“Humour me” Levi begins, keeping his voice level, uninterested. “Why is everyone so irritatingly talkative this morning? Did Jean shit himself again?” Levi allows himself a smirk, glancing over at Erwin, only to see him glance around the room at the aforementioned teachers who were quite simply irritating the _fuck_ out of Levi this morning.

“There’s a new history teacher.” He says simply. “A real lady-killer - so I’ve heard.” Erwin laughs a little bit before giving a resolute shrug. “or man-killer, rumour is he’s batting for other team” Erwin gave Levi a look, and that look could only mean one thing, before Levi could even object the door to the English teachers’ lounge swung wide open, crashing against the wall and frightening some passing students. A tall women with glasses and a high, messy pony-tail came crashing in, swinging her arms wide as she takes long strides into the room, stepping up to Levi.

“Levi~” She sings happily, making Levi place his face in his hand. _God fucking dammit_. “Mr. Heichou, come on now, don’t be mean.” She pleads with him. Perhaps he’d said that last bit out loud. Levi frowned deeply at her.

“Fuck off, shitty-glasses. Don’t utter a fucking word about what I think you’re going to or I swear to God.” Levi glared at her, and all she did in return was laugh. Every time. _Every time_ there was even an _inkling_ that one of the male teachers was gay Hanji _always_ tried fucking around with Levi. Levi stands, failing to concrete his point, only causing Hanji to laugh at the comically short man trying to appear tall and intimidating, although succeeding for the latter of the two. “Look, you shit-stain, if you don’t get back to your own lounge right now, I’ll work with the art department to replace _every. Single. Chemical_ in that fucking laboratory of yours with brightly coloured paint.” Levi’s pointed glare was enough to make her back away, but not enough for her to stop that fucking laughter that carried all the way down the hallway to the science lounge. Levi frowned.

“ _Every. God. Damned. Time.”_ Levi hissed to no one in particular. Erwin merely chuckled, and it drove Levi mad, he shot him a glare that told him so.

“She just thinks you’re lonely” Erwin tries to help, but Levi silences him with another glare.

“And what if I like lonely? What if I don’t want some shit-stain fucking up my loneliness?” Levi hissed sitting back in the sofa indignantly, the only problem with this, however, was the fact that Levi’s feet would not reach the ground like this, and he looked rather like a sulking child, much to Erwin’s pleasure. Levi scowled again. His mood was darkened further when first period bell went and he begrudgingly trudged to his classroom. He could vaguely here Erwin laughing behind him and shouting after him over the noise of students.

“If she tries something, please don’t kill her. She always gets the best wine when we get together.” Levi scowled and entered his classroom.  
His students were still pouring into class when he had sat in his swivel chair at the front of the class. He glared them down. They were seniors, and unlike the juniors, they were less easy to scare. Or they had more respect, one of the two. Levi preferred the latter, respect taught, fear controlled.

The period ran rather smoothly, forever telling the girls sitting at the back to stop talking about this god damned history teacher. When the students milled out, Levi took a look at his schedule for next period and was glad to see a free one. He rubs his eyes vigorously when everyone is gone, to the point where he can see shapes and colours. Dammit he didn’t get enough sleep last night, or the night before that – or possibly in the last year. Levi frowns at himself and thinks momentarily of marking papers he hadn’t gotten time to mark yet, and with a disgruntled moan realises that, _yes_ in fact he _had_ already marked them. Levi scowls down at the offending papers in his hand. So absorbed into his scowling, he didn’t notice someone appearing at the door, momentarily losing composure as he jumps at the sound, Levi covers his momentary lapse of having a facial expression and turns his attention to the subject of his hatred as of now.

“I-uh, sorry, sir, I was told by Miss Zoe that you wanted to see me.” The brat was tall, much taller than Levi, and looked as if he didn’t know what a comb was, his brown hair looking oddly like he’d had a shower and left it to air dry. Levi frowns before standing from his chair. The man had a fairly nice physique, tall and lean. His shoulder to hip ratio did not meet that of Erwin’s, who reminded him of that guy who played Captain America, what was his name again? Chris “Fine-Ass” Evans? But neither were his shoulder to hip ratio 1:1, there was a nice inward curve to his waist that Levi couldn’t say he didn’t approve of. Levi frowned to himself as he assessed the man’s clothing. Black shoes that looked scuffed and worn, black trousers that fit him fairly well, a white shirt that looked like it’d had an argument with the iron this morning, the sleeves had been rolled haphazardly to his elbows exposing _very_ nice forearms, if Levi was to say so himself, and a tie that was crooked and not even tied properly. Levi sighs deeply, the kid looked like a 16 year old trying to hard at a family get together. He’s pulled from his thoughts when he here’s a throat clearing and realises he’s been glaring at the kid for a while.

“No. I don’t need you.” Levi said shortly, folding his arms. “Don’t you have a class, Mr..?” He paused for a minute, realising he had never caught his name from Hanji, which was probably more to do with Levi threatening her out of the lounge this morning that her forgetting to tell him.

“Jaegar, Eren Jaegar. No, I have a free period this period” He steps forward, his tanned skin pinking slightly as he extends a hand down to Levi. Levi considers himself for a moment before shaking his hand with one solid shake before letting go.

“Levi, Levi Heichou” He says, folding his arms again, but not before removing an invisible piece of lint front his own crisply ironed gray shirt.

“So you didn’t need my help?” He asks, his brow furrowing in his confusion and the action makes Levi oddly want to laugh. He quickly covers the almost smile into a smirk.

“Hanji was being an ass.” Levi puts simply, and Eren shoots glances behind him, worried that Levi’s profanity would be heard out in the hallway, clearly the kid was new. Levi fought the urge to roll his eyes, and failed.

“Um-“

“Why would I need help from a History teacher, to ask about the history of the semi-colon? Maybe you can explain why the fuck my students don’t know when the fuck to use it” Levi asks him, quirking an eyebrow before allowing for another smirk as Eren seems to quickly glance once more behind him. He watches the question work its way through Jaegar’s head and Levi couldn’t suppress another eye roll, the brat was an idiot – albeit an adorable idiot.  
“Really, kid, I didn’t need your help, but while you’re here, and while you’re freakishly tall – I could probably use some help pulling down those shitty ass quotes from the walls.” Eren looks momentarily baffled and insulted by Levi’s comment but the brat dares to laugh, giving an easy smile, although not sure how he feels being insulted by a man he’s just met, no matter how exhaustingly beautiful he appeared.

“You ever thought that you’re just freakish-“ Eren stopped when Levi glares at him, scowling outwardly as he looks up at the giant. With those eyes, he could very well be named aptly as the Green Giant. Eren laughs again at Levi’s scowl and Levi glares back at the quotes.

“Kid, you look like you should be on an advert for sweet corn, so move that ass and get pulling down those abominations on the wall.” Levi scowled.

“You’re quite insulting, aren’t you?” Eren laughs, stepping up to the wall and reaching up to pull the first down, some stupid motivational quote that made Levi want to jump off the nearest building.

“You have no idea.” Levi smirks, folding his arms over is chest, watching as the man works.

“Why would Miss Zoe tell me you needed my help?” Jaegar asks absent-mindedly, carefully placing the paper down and squeezing the Blu-tac he received into a ball in his palm.

“Because she likes fucking with the newbies, some weird initiation, I think. You haven’t really worked here till you’ve put up with me for more than five minutes. Or so Hanji thinks.” Levi frowns deeply; he would quite happily miss out the part about Hanji trying to set him up. Eren starts to laugh softly though, covering his mouth with the back of his hand and Levi looks confusedly up to him, an eyebrow twitching into the air.

“Something funny, brat?” Levi glowers at the taller man, who ends up snickering further.

“Do any of the teachers she sends here actually make it out after those five minutes?” Eren flicks his stupidly bright eyes towards Levi, and the shorter man is momentarily reminded of Floridian seas during a storm, Levi frowns.

“None. Not one of them so count yourself lucky.” Levi scowls his eyes cold and hard. Eren’s eyes may have been tropical seas during a storm, but Levi’s were harsh and glacier. Both blue to an extent - how could that shade of green even exist in someone’s eyes? – but complete polar opposites in their warmth.

“Of course.” Eren laughs again, pulling the last of the quotes down and handing Levi the Blu-tac. “All done” He says cheerily, placing his hands on his hips and Levi allows himself a slightly pleased smirk.

“Thanks, I was going to kill myself if I had to look at those things one more day. You did well, kid.” Eren seems pleased by the compliment, and even brushed off the ‘kid’ comment.

“No problem! It was nice meeting you, Levi, I guess I should probably go and get next period planned. If you see Miss Zoe, please tell her that I made it through the five minutes” He grins widely, reminding Levi again of a sixteen year old boy. Levi rolls his eyes and gives a curt nod, watching as the taller man leaves his classroom.

Well fuck. At least those god damn posters were down.


	2. The "U" Word

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi explains to Eren about poetry and teaching stories are shared.

The day finished quicker than expected, and Levi only ran into the brat once more. The bell to signal the end of the day sounded, and his juniors all piled out of the class. Levi set down his copy of ‘The Great Gatsby’ and frowned slightly at the crease forming on the back, Levi made it his personal goal to never break the spine of a book, and this was the first time he had. His frown deepened as he was pulled from his self-deprecating thoughts when he heard some of the other English teachers shout out their goodbyes to the rest of the suckers who were left behind. Levi returned the goodbyes to them without really thinking about it and pushed back from his desk, leaving the offending novel to sit on Levi’s desk and think about what it had done.

After a moment of contemplation he remained seated in his chair and turned it promptly to look at his first period for the following day, his seniors were coming in again and they were studying the Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock and Levi didn’t think he connected on a deeper level with another fictional character. Levi frowned again, musing over the implications of that, and he decided that no, that wasn’t true; Prufrock caused his own isolation, but he refused to believe that it was himself who had caused it. Levi knew otherwise. Levi was arranging his notes when he heard a sheepish knock at the door, he turned and his steely cold eyes met tropical greens.

“Uh-hey, sorry – I kind of got confused when leaving and I ended up here, thought I might say hello.” Levi could have laughed at the kid, he stood with his weight centred on one foot and a hand in the mess he called his hair. Levi instead allowed himself a smirk.

“You got lost?” His tone filled with amusement.

“Not lost, I thought I was taking a short-cut” Eren was quick to defend and Levi couldn’t suppress the amused huff that escaped his mouth.  
  
“Idiot.” Levi rolled his eyes, turning his chair so he was now facing the other man; he motioned for him to come on in. The shit eating grin that passed over his features was almost enough for Levi to tell him to fuck right off, instead he suppressed a groan and an eye roll.   
  
“How was your first day?” Levi quirked an eyebrow, lifting a leg till it rested over his knee, never removing the nonchalance and disinterest from his tone, he preferred to pick at invisible fluff on his shirt again.  
  
“Uh – good, some of the kids can be a handful” He admitted, perching himself on one of the tables that makes Levi cringe, god knows what’s been on those things.  
  
“You’re telling me” Levi scowls. A comfortable silence falls over the pair for a moment and Levi turned back to finish organising his notes, getting lost in the Modern world that Alfred Prufrock described before he felt a looming figure standing over him. He frowns deeply. “Someone should put a fucking bell on you.” Levi’s tone was meant to sound like a sneer; it just appeared exasperated and almost teasing.  
  
“What’s this?” Eren ignores the comment and leans further over, glancing at Levi before picking up the first paper in his stack of notes, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T.S. Eliot.”, Eren mused aloud before quirking an amused eyebrow and snorting.  
  
“Something funny, brat?” That was the second time he’d said that to the kid today and Levi didn’t attempt to keep the glower from his face.  
  
“Just didn’t peg you for the romantic poem type.” Levi promptly rolls his eyes and spins on his chair, promptly grabbing a copy of the poem and handing it to the obnoxiously bright eyed young man.   
  
“It’s not a romantic poem, jackass, educate yourself - read it” The last part was a command and Eren leans back against the drawers that held his other work while he read. Levi leaned back in his chair and watched the young man while he read, amused by the furrow that formed in his brow with concentration. It was almost endearing how much he tried to pay attention to the words on the paper, each stanza gaining more of his undivided attention as he tried to make sense of it. It took a few minutes but when he was done he looked up at Levi, confusion pooled in his gaze and something else, almost like frustration that he couldn’t decode the entire poem on his first reading. Levi nodded almost sympathetically; this was most people first reaction.  
  
“I don’t get it, did he die?”  
  
“You could make that assumption.” Levi concedes that the last stanza could in fact be interpreted this way, but he did not teach that piece of analysis of the text. “I teach it differently” Levi admits, leaning forward and taking the poem in his hands, pointing to the last stanza in the poem.  
  
“ _We have lingered by the chambers of the sea. By sea girls wreathed in seaweed red and brown. Till human voices wake us, and we drown”_ Levi repeated it without really looking at it and handing the poem back to Jaegar, not sure if the kid wanted it or not. “It’s actually a very good ending to the poem.” Levi starts, now moving to lean forward, his hands clasped together, his elbows rested upon his knees. “Basically, Prufrock’s a massive dick who did nothing to make his life better than the shit stain it was, and he blames everybody else for it. The line “ _We have lingered by the chambers of the sea.”,_ is referring to his procrastination, he’s stayed in his dream for too long where he’s protected and safe from rejection” He muses, flicking a glance up to Jaegar who was staring intently at him now. “The last line basically means that Prufrock wants to remain asleep, remain ignorant in his dream world because the Modern world is stagnant and polluted. He feels like if he’s woken, he’ll drown in the Modern society.” Levi shrugs, not really sure why he explained it all to him, but he thought the poem was interesting, and getting lost in analysing pieces of text was why he had decided to become an English teacher. “But it’s all bullshit because Prufrock is the sole reason for him being a lonely little shit, he forced people away and didn’t even _try_ and interact with anyone.”  
  
“Wow, sounds depressing.” Eren murmurs to himself, Levi only shrugs, “Kind of gives you incentive to never turn out like that though, I suppose” And the shit eating grin was back on his face. Levi scowled and rolled his eyes, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips as he watches the bright eyed man fold the paper and slip it into his trousers. “I better get going, anyway.” He stands straighter and his eyes glisten as he turns on his heel and starts to make his way from the door. “Thank you, by the way.” Almost sheepishly Eren gives a half-assed wave.  
  
“For what?” Levi inquires quirking an eyebrow.  
  
“For letting me be the first survivor.”  
  
“The only one at this rate.” His laughter rang out down the hall. Levi frowned as he found himself sporting a genuine smile.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Who invited the brat?” Levi quipped the following day, allowing the smirk to fall over his lips to remain effortless. Erwin snickers and Hanji coos that she had to be friendly to the new guy. Eren rubs off their reactions and a laugh tumbles from his mouth like music from speakers. Levi rolls his eyes and shuffles over allowing the bright eyed asshole to take the chair next to his at the kitchen island in the Science lounge; it was the only lounge in the school that had a functioning kitchen and an island with an acceptable number of chairs around it.

“Be nice Levi, I just _had_ to see the only survivor of the I’ve-Been-in-the-Same-Room-as-Levi-on-my-First-Encounter-with-him-for-more-than-Five-Minutes club!” Hanji reprimands him like a scolding mother that makes Levi flip her off promptly. Eren laughs again and takes his place next to Levi, setting his lunch down in front of him. Levi flicks his eyes over to the clock and frowns a little, they’d been fucking around for about fifteen minutes and only forty-five remained of lunch. Levi scowls.

“Whatever shitty-glasses” Levi returns easily. His sleeves are rolled up so as not to get any of the soup from his flask to fall onto his clothing, not that Levi would _ever_ be that messy as to drop his food on himself. The group eat in relative silence for a moment before Levi swallows a spoonful, pointing to the eerily super hero like man in front of him. “That’s Erwin, kid, ‘kay? Or Mr. Smith in front of the little shits, I’m only going to introduce them once. He’s a piece of shit, but tolerable. Same with shitty-glasses over there-“ Levi directs the spoon he had been pointing at Erwin to Hanji and his scowl worsens. “I’m not so sure she is tolerable, but that’s Hanji. I noticed you were calling her Miss. Zoe yesterday when we were talking.” Levi turns back to his soup and takes another spoonful.

“I was only trying to be respectful” Eren returns, his cheeks flushing as Erwin and Hanji both shake his hand, Hanji looking overly enthusiastic. “Eren Jaegar.” He returns their greetings happily enough now that his initial embarrassment was lost some.

“How long have you been a teacher, Eren? You look pretty young still.” Erwin asks around a bite from his sandwich, to which Levi shoots him a warning glare. They were fucking animals in here.

“Uh, this is my first job since leaving university.” Eren appears sheepish; his hand returning to the back of his had to scratch nervously. Levi frowns, and so does Hanji, although her frown turns into a down-right pout after a moment of contemplation.

“That means you don’t have any good teaching stories yet.” Hanji seems almost dejected by the prospect of missing out on stories. Eren’s interest has been piqued however and he leans forward on the table, chewing excitedly at his food. Levi glared as he watched crumbs fall everywhere.

“Do you guys have any good teaching stories?” His eyes brought excitement to a new level and Levi rolled his eyes. Hanji meets his posture, leaning excitedly over the island and grinning like the mad woman she was.

“Do we!” She exclaims, as excited as ever. She reigns herself in slowly and sits down, bouncing in her seat now. “We have the best.” She assures him before Levi cuts in.

“You mean _I_ have the best, yours are pitiful at most.” Levi scolds with no real venom, smirking to himself as he closes his flask and pushes the empty canister away. Eren shoots him an incredulous look but the grin that slowly bursts from his face is enough to make Levi roll his eyes, shaking his head and turning back to look at Erwin who sat directly opposite him. “You go first, Captain America, yours isn’t as bad as Hanji’s”. Erwin sits back on his chair and nods slightly before leaning forward again, his forearms rested against the island counter top, his hands clutched together.

“Okay, so basically. It’s my first day of teaching, right? I get handed the – uh – over excited kids first, you know?” He starts, his gaze flicking between all three of them, even though two of the three had already heard the story, it was some sort of tradition to tell your teaching stories at some point. Levi, Erwin and Hanji had always exchanged theirs over wine and greasy as fuck food, however.

“And they’re all writing a timed essay for me, and there’s one kid sitting outside because he’d been distracting the other students, and what else could I do, you know?” Erwin asks, as if looking for an answer from Eren but Eren’s listening intently, and only nods for him to continue. “So he asks for help, and I’m like ‘Yeah, sure, I’ll be right there’ I swear upon my life that I had one foot out the door and two of the other students immediately pulled _lightsabers_ from their bags. _Lightsabers”_ Erwin snorts at the memory. “They begin to dance around one another, right in front of the class and it ends in a brutal death scene, in which one of the kids proclaimed that he was the others father.” Erwin shakes his head, still laughing, his shoulders shaking with the effort to hold it back. “Once it was over, they returned to their seats and didn’t speak a word of it.” Erwin shrugs and leans back. “To this day I have no idea what was going on in that class room.” Eren’s grin is enough to make Erwin return it to equal vibrancy.

“That’s so cool, I hope something cool like that will happen to me!” Eren’s glee was evident in his expression and he turned to Hanji. “You have a story, too, right?” His eyebrows rising in a request for her to tell him a story, Hanji’s reaction is almost immediate; she jumps from her chair and starts pacing the kitchen floor, shaking her finger as she thought. She begins to laugh though, loud and obnoxious to Levi’s ears. Hanji begins to howl with laughter at the memory and soon has to lean on the island in order to keep herself standing up right.

Eventually, when her laughter doesn’t seem to ebb, at least to Levi’s ears, she waves her hands, motioning that she cannot go on even though she hasn’t started. Levi rolls his eyes and throws a “Tch” her way before turning to Eren, who looked slightly concerned for the health of the bespectacled woman. So was Levi, but in a less caring manner.

“Shut the fuck up, Shitty-glasses.” Levi hisses before glancing back to Eren, having received his attention, Levi smirks. “Before I worked in a high school, I worked in an elementary school” He ignored the continuing titters from Hanji “I was on playground duty and the most innocent little girl you could imagine ran up to me – you know, the whole blonde hair in two pigtails thing, right - crying about some kid.” Levi turns his entire torso, facing Eren completely now.

“’Sir, Sir’ she cries, right? ‘Christopher said the ‘U’ word’ she’s pointing back at the kid in mention and I’m just as confused as you are” He nods at Eren’s confused burrow of his eyebrows, clearly trying to think of every curse word he could, and when coming up empty for those categorised under ‘U’ he prompts Levi to continue. “Well, naturally I’m curious and I’m trying to coax the kid into spitting the word out, but she keeps prattling on about how awful the word is. Eventually I’m bending to be heights with her oka- No fucking height jokes you bespectacled piece of shit, not a word from you either Captain America. – and I’m telling her to whisper it into my ear and she looks so upset with herself that I almost tell her it doesn’t matter and that I’ll tell the kid off, but she leans forward and cups her hands around my ear and whispers the word into it.” Levi stops for a moment, watching Eren’s face. The kid frowns and leans forward, frustrated the Levi has stopped.

“What did he say?” Eren urges, pushes Levi to continue, Levi chuckles to himself before leaning forward, pressing his hands around Eren’s ears like the young girl had done, and whispered into his ear.

“You motherfucker.” He leans back and can’t help the bout of laughter that erupts from his mouth at the expression on the man’s face.

Soon Levi’s laughter is mixed with the other three occupying the table.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I don't usually update this quick, but I wanted chapter 2 out as soon as just because!  
> I'll be updating every Friday, so technically I'm still okay? hahaha woops, I'm terrible.  
> Thank you guys for actually enjoying the first chapter.


	3. MAIN

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi's grouchy - what else is new?  
> Eren meets everyone and gets along really well with them all, apart from Kirschtein, he's a dick.  
> Levi visits Eren while he's teaching and becomes enthralled with the man's natural ability to captivate the attention of his students.

The next day dragged once more, first period was uneventful as he explained the key themes of the poem they were studying and began from the beginning again, reiterating their previous knowledge of the text from studying it for a few weeks. They all give Levi very pleasing answers and he’s feeling a little bit of pride bubble up inside of him at his class, though he’d never admit it and scoff if you even dared mention it.

Ultimately the day dragged to lunch, this time spending it in the English lounge mainly because Hanji had ordered them all to, and now that everyone was piled in it was uncomfortably warm and obnoxiously loud in the lounge. Not to mention Eren was practically perched in his lap because everyone was piling continuously onto the sofa that could not support the eight of them that were trying to fit. Levi scowls, however he can’t say he’s too opposed to the young man resting heavily against his thigh.

Lunch was a disaster for most part, Hanji had invited Eren to eat with them again and out to dinner with Levi and Erwin on Mondays, it seemed like it would become a permanent routine. Levi didn’t mind, he was beginning to look forward for the sea-eyed prick wandering into the English lounge, still looking slightly out of place and nervous to be entering. Levi watched him silently as he had been introduced to the others by Hanji, hovering over him excitedly as he’d been introduced to Sasha and Connie, Sasha was head of the Food and Nutrition department and Connie was never far behind her, making sure she didn’t pilfer too much of the food, they didn’t usually come up to the English lounge, only when Hanji demanded a get together. Eren was thrown from person to person carelessly. Running into Reiner and Berthold, who he seemed to click with quickly, and he stumbled into Ymir and Christa, finally fumbling into Jean who he didn’t seem to get along with at all, apparently the pair had knocked heads previously, a situation where Jean had questioned the use of history and it’s important. It was past, what could they do now? _What an idiot_ Levi had imagined the scenario, and Levi knew that Eren was tall and thin, but he was covered in muscle, and a loud-mouthed brat like Jean was sure to piss off an equally big-mouthed Eren. Levi watched how the pair had danced around each other, throwing insults at each other. He wondered momentarily about the pair, although they seemed to butt heads constantly and argue non-stop, there was a definite feeling of friendship bubbling up, or perhaps just a respect that Eren had proven he’d deserved. Levi scowls while mulling his thoughts over. So intent at glaring at the opposing wall he didn’t realise when Eren shifted next to him.

“What is it, kid?” Levi raises an eyebrow, not removing his gaze from the opposing wall, a hard glare still pressed into his features, but his voice was soft, no hard edge found in his tone.

“You always look angry” Eren commented, as if he was greeting Levi with a hello. Levi peels his gaze from the wall and glances up at Eren, momentarily displeased with how short he was compared to Green Giant next to him. His eyes widen a fraction and he shrugs.

“Maybe I am” Levi’s tone remained soft but level, looking away from the inquisitive gaze he was receiving.

“I don’t think you are, though” Eren muses again and raises a tentative hand and presses his index finger into the deep burrow that Levi’s eyebrows had made, Levi wasn’t even aware he’d been furrowing his brow until Eren’s prod had made him relax it, the headache he had felt coming on ebbing slightly.

“And what would you know, brat?”, Levi growls, folding his arms over his chest, feeling something like a sulking child, but not being able to find it in himself to care that exact moment in time. Eren gave a slow grin, dropping his hand back to his lap, he had the gall to laugh.

“I know that you’re feeling especially grumpy today, Mr. Heichou” Levi shoots Eren a glare, Eren hadn’t called him by his name yet, and he was becoming sincerely pissed with it. He had been able to drop the titles for everyone bar himself, and Levi was becoming increasingly aware it was because the brat liked to see him glare at him.

“Only because you’re practically sitting in my lap, you dick” Levi scowls, giving a half assed attempt at shuffling away from him, and not feeling all too disappointed when he failed. Eren chuckles to himself, running a hand through his hair.

“No, really, what’s got you in a mood” Eren rests his head against the bottom of his palm, his arm propped up by his elbow resting on the back of the sofa, his torso twisted sideways to look at Levi properly. Levi glares, turning in the same fashion Eren had, but keeping his arms folded.

“It’s too loud in here.” Levi concedes, raising a hand to his head and pressing two fingers to his left temple, trying to ease the headache that was still threatening to appear. Levi frowns again. “Too many fucking people, there aren’t supposed to be so god damned many in here” Levi begrudgingly lets his hands drop when he realises they were doing absolutely nothing to help him. The bell signalling the end of lunch made Levi want to break something, and positively kill someone when the warmth pressed against his thigh was removed. It was Tuesday, however, and Levi had a free period this period. He stands for a moment before turning on his heel and grabbing some pieces of written work he had to mark and leaving his classroom empty. Levi had managed to grab his things quick enough that he could still see a mess of brown hair exiting the hallways.

Levi would not run, he would not, but he knew his way to the history corridor and took a short cut, reaching the top of the stairs and entering the corridor in time to meet Eren on his way to his classroom. Eren jumped and seemed startled, but his gaze softened and he only laughed as he led Levi into his classroom. Levi sat at the back without a word, pulling a desk and a chair out for himself before the other students piled in. Most of whom he’d recognised from his class, they all shot him scared glances, worried they’d all done something wrong. It was no secret that the entire school had heard about Levi’s attitude and the children had begun to fear him a little, at least enough for them to remain respectful. Eren chuckles softly and begins his lesson.

At some point Levi forgets about the papers he has to mark and he gets lost in Eren’s explanation of the beginning of World War 1, explaining that the death of Franz Ferdinand did not start the War, but was merely the straw that broke the camel’s back. Before long, Levi had pushed his work entirely to the side and crossed his legs under the table, resting the underside of his knee against the other knee. He sat with his head propped by his palm, his arm against the table as he listened to Eren’s lesson. He glances around the classroom and notices that everyone else seems just as entranced in the lesson as he is, but they’re all taking notes, keeping track of Eren’s words.

Levi watched Eren carefully, noticing how he was a different person when he was teaching. Although the lazy smile still pulled at his face effortlessly, there was a strictness he held in his tone and movements that made the kids take note of the fact that although Mr. Jaegar was a beautifully intelligent man who could teach history to a four year old, he was also firm and unafraid of confrontation. He was the perfect ideal for a teacher, and Levi found himself slightly awed by the man in front of him, although he would never utter that aloud, it was bad enough he was thinking it.

“Questions?” Eren turns to glance around the class, and seeing no hands had risen he frowns a little, sure there was something he’d forgotten. Levi rolls his eyes and coughs into his hand, drawing Eren’s attention to Levi, a smile slowly drags its way across his face and Levi momentarily catches a glint of the Eren he sees in the teacher’s lounges. He smirks and raises a hand half way into the air, keeping his gaze even.

“Mr. Heichou” Eren says sheepishly, stepping back a bit, smiling brightly.

“Mr. Jaegar” Levi returns, swinging back on his chair momentarily before dropping the two legs to the floor again. “You said there was an abbreviation to remember. MAIN, you didn’t elaborate.” Levi points out and recognition passes Eren’s features and he looks like a giddy child.

“Right! MAIN! Militarisation, Alliances, Imperialisation and Nationalism!” Eren begins to go over the four main reasons for the beginning of World War 1, and now with a complete explanation, the students look content, understanding filling their features. Levi smirks. The bell rings promptly and Levi gathers his things, replacing the table and chair he had stolen and waits for the other students to leave before following their example and making a move to leave.

“Thanks” Eren’s voice stops him and he turns, the smirk growing wider.

“Not a problem, kid. Thanks back at you.” He says his voice still flat and even. Eren raised an eyebrow, surprise filling his eyes as he stares, confused. Levi chuckles and nods to Eren before turning on his heel, calling over his shoulder as he left. “I didn’t know history could be so interesting.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm very tired and I was going to wait till midnight to post but, whoah man, I need my beauty sleep - trust me.  
> (It's actually infuriating to only post once a week, but I have to do it this way because exam are in about a week and a half, and I don't want to start falling behind.)  
> To those of you who have left comments, who have subscribed, to those of you who have bookmarked and left kudos and even to those who just read this on passing; thank you very much, from the bottom of my heart.


	4. Eren and the Twink

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter name sounds like Eren's having sex with a student. He's not, just to clarify.  
> Eren finds out about Levi, and Levi notices that Eren steals his place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh, aren't you guys lucky. Two chapters in one night.  
> Mainly because I get so bored with the chapters just sitting there, and I'm about 6 weeks ahead of schedule for this story, yayy!

As the weeks followed it had become some kind of unspoken rule that every Tuesday after lunch Levi would slip into Eren’s class with the intention of getting some marking done. Getting around three quarters of the way through before giving up entirely and immersing himself into Eren’s teaching. Every Tuesday without fail Levi would turn up, and every Tuesday without fail Eren would pull out the desk and chair for him, always reaching the classroom before Levi due to his unnaturally long legs and Levi’s refusal to run.

Not once did Levi smile, but the occasional smirk would let slip and he would see Eren laughing from the corner of his eye and he would glare at him, gaining him another trilling laugh. Levi always rolled his eyes.

It had become some kind of second unspoken rule that the pair would collide in shared free periods, of which there were only two. Monday last period and Thursday second period the pair always seemed to be not looking but looking for each other, always finding themselves stuck in one or the others classrooms and discussing their teachings of the day. Levi, usually, grousing about some abhorrently horny teenagers and their comments about the history teacher, who laid himself horizontally across the tables in his classroom. Much to Levi’s disgust, but he couldn’t say he didn’t like the look of Eren’s profile in this position. Allowing himself to let his eyes roam over the others body while he was distracted by something on the ceiling.

“Shame” Eren mumbles to himself after a moment, one day. “Maybe I’d hoped some hot teenage boy would make a comment about my fine ass.” Eren chuckles loudly into the crook of his arm where it rested over his eyes now. Levi rolled his eyes and threw the tennis ball that Eren kept on his desk at the history teacher, scowling.

“No such luck, maybe I’ll tell them you take it up the shitter, might make some twink pay attention to you.” Levi spits, spinning lightly in Eren’s desk chair. Eren laughs loudly and effortlessly and it makes Levi hate him a little bit more.

“Oh please do, use those exact words as well “Takes it up the shitter” is _such_ a brilliant outing sentence” Eren throws the tennis ball back, trying to catch Levi off guard but the stony eyed man catches the ball with ease.

“I don’t know, I used it, worked alright for me.” Levi deadpans, setting the ball back on his desk before swivelling again, not catching the surprise in Eren’s eyes as he lifts his arm from covering his face in order to stare at Levi.

“You’re gay?”

“As gay as Hanji is psychotic.”

“Whoah”

“I know right.” Levi’s voice remains flat, but something in it must be humorous because Eren starts to giggle, and before long it becomes roaring laughter. Levi throws all meaning of remaining maturity out the window when he aims the tennis ball at Eren’s hip, eliciting more laughs from the man.

“I can’t believe you’re a qualified teacher. You’re such a dumbass”. Eren pokes his tongue out, showing just how immature he was and Levi rolls his eyes, still scowling at the man. Levi’s mood could only be alleviated by the bell signalling the end of the day. Levi stands and makes his way to the door of Eren’s history class, but not without attempting to shove the man from his position on the tables first. Eren laughs loudly, it’s the last thing Levi thinks about while leaving.

~~~

It’s cold. Fucking cold. That’s all there really is to it, what else is there to say? Levi supposes he likes the cold though, it nips away his headache and replaces it with flushed cheeks and numb fingers and he supposes that wasn’t so bad. He does, however, believe that ploughing through shit tons of people in order to reach his favourite spot was so bad. Levi braves the weather, pulling his jacket tighter around himself and silently berating himself for not picking up a scarf before he’d rushed from his apartment. The park is a long walk away from his apartment but it’s worth it, the only thing keeping Levi moving right now is the memory of the lake lapping at rocks as it was rushing past, simultaneously destructive and calming in a way that relaxed Levi fully. He smiles into the thought and fights his way past others, making the appropriate turns when he was meant to, and even lingering a little longer outside of a cafe in order to breathe in the deep and smoky scent of coffee beans before moving again.

It doesn’t take too long to reach the entrance of the park, but the cold is nipping at his skin in a way that isn’t entirely uncomfortable but isn’t exactly pleasing either. The numbness setting over his fingers and toes prompts him to pick up his pace while simultaneously ignoring the vibrations in his leg coming from his phone. He didn’t care what Hanji wanted tonight, all he wanted was to sit at his regular bench, in his regular spot and watch the calmness of the river as it slowly but surely carved its way through rocks and earth in order to follow its path. Levi had been staring at the ground so long he forgot to look up but the walk is so familiar he could do it in his sleep, he was sure. Levi is still yelling at himself about not picking up a scarf when the bench comes into view, and he yells at himself more when he realises there’s someone in his spot.

“Hey, not to be rude or anything, but I kind of sit there.” His tone harsh and flat, a fixed glare on the back of the persons head, and when the figure turns to reveal Eren Fucking Jaegar Levi scowls. “Never mind, get the fuck out of my seat, Jaegar.” Levi stands, hands on his hip, the tips of his fingers turning pink. Eren barks out a laugh and scoots over, Levi sits indignantly.

“Not to be rude, but you’re an ass hat.” Eren earns himself a smack across the back of the head for that one and Levi absent-mindedly notes the soft texture of his hair. He frowns, looking out at the river.

“What are you doing here?” Levi asks him, not turning to acknowledge his presence.

“I usually come here when I get bored.” Eren explains, kicking at rocks beneath his feet. Levi frowns continuously and Eren chuckles to himself before daring to flick a cheeky glance over to Levi. “You come here often?” Levi rolls his eyes almost out of his skull and nods curtly.

“About three times a week, it’s my favourite place.” He tacks on to the end. Glaring at the water, why did Jaegar have to fuck up his place? _His place._ Levi pouts, actually pouts before flicking a glare over to Eren. “You come here often?”

“Not that often, maybe just once a week, the water helps me think” Eren explains.

“Me too.” Levi admits, allowing the tension that had built in his body to leave, however Levi hadn’t realised the tension had been keeping his body warm and now his teeth chattered horribly and Levi could do nothing about it until he felt a warmth wrap about his neck, he glances down, confused at the fabric that now rested there.

“Have it” Eren pushes, giving him a pointed glare that was nowhere near on par with Levi’s. Levi scowls and moves to rip the scarf from around his neck before Eren stops him. “Seriously, I’m always warm, anyway. I don’t get cold all that often. Take it; I don’t want to have a guilty conscience if you get the cold.” Eren pleads with Levi to keep the scarf and Levi resigns himself to the warmth that was not unwelcomed by his body. Levi mumbles a thanks before grasping the scarf and inhaling deeply, happy for the warmth that it brought him. He was pleasantly surprised by the smell of mint and something a little rawer that must have been pure Eren. Levi smiles softly beneath the scarf and was glad that Eren couldn’t see him like this.

“I’ll leave you here to think, I’ve already been here a while, anyway.” Eren’s cheeks were bright pink with the cold and only served to emphasise the green in Eren’s eyes. Levi nodded his goodbye and Eren sauntered his way out of the park. Levi couldn’t help but chance a quick glance back and allowed heat that had nothing to do with the cold rise to his cheeks when he noticed Eren looking back at him, grinning knowingly and waving erratically. Dammit, what the fuck Levi.


	5. The 70 year old and the 4 year old

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren calls Levi out on his bullshit analysis of the Shining and they plan to watch it together. They also go out for diner with Erwin and Hanji, and let's not forget Eren texting like a fucking child.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If y'all want to follow me on tumblr (Not sure why you would, but hey let's go with it.) My URL is Itsaroosterteeththing.tumblr.com

A month or so of pleasant routine follows. Every Monday last period and Tuesday’s after lunch Levi would turn up in Eren’s class, invited or not, always wearing a scowl. However, Every Thursday second period and Friday’s third period Eren would turn up in Levi’s classroom during his free periods, whether Levi wanted him there or not. The routine was simple and one that Levi couldn’t say he disapproved of. Eren may have talked incessantly about his best friend and sister, Armin and Mikasa, but Levi found the enthusiastic excitement from his stories endearing and magnetic in the same way that his teaching was. Levi always ended up paying far more attention that he had originally planned to. Levi always scowled when he realised how curious he had become, not that his curiosity wasn’t fed quite well. Eren told Levi so much about his life with Mikasa and Armin that Levi had almost felt he knew the pair themselves and Levi supposes Eren feels the same about Levi’s stories about Hanji and Erwin, however Eren had actually met them then, and with mental images at the ready, Eren always seemed to find Levi’s stories rather humorous.

The collision at the park wasn’t their last either; often Levi would bump into Eren at the bench now, always seated in his spot. Levi always frowned, tugging at the scarf Eren had gifted to him closer to his cheeks. The days were getting endlessly colder and although Levi revelled in the cold that nipped his skin, there was a breaking point for every man, and Levi was sure his was soon. He preferred his fingers and toes precisely where they were. Eren always gave him the same lopsided grin and shuffled over. They would talk about mindless nonsense, usually on Eren’s part. Eren could hold a conversation with a rock, much to Levi’s discontent.

One particular Monday afternoon Eren had helped Levi replace his desk and they walked out of the classroom together. They walked from the school and stopped in their usual departing place for a moment before finishing their conversation on The Shining and how absolutely obscene and obscure Levi’s analysis of the movie was.

“We’ll watch it then, together.” Eren tells him, determined to make Levi see the error of his ways, even if it was Levi who had studied the movie from start to finish. Levi only rolled his eyes and folded his arms over his chest. He had learned that the height distance between them really pissed him off when he wanted to seem of equal heights to Eren, and Levi had also learned that it was at these moments that Eren seemed to be able to read minds and always got the same childish grin that almost seemed mocking. Levi would flip him off, as he did now.

“Whatever - pick a day. You need my number or something, brat?” Levi asked, raising an eyebrow to the brunet who promptly blushed and shook his head vigorously, a nervous laugh tumbling from the boy’s mouth.

“Something funny, brat?”

“I- Uh, no. Hanji already gave me your number. I was planning on sending you prank texts.” He admitted sheepishly, earning himself a smack across the back of the head from Levi, leaving Eren to laugh loudly.

“Stupid brat.” Levi mutters, rolling his eyes. “Just text me or something. Aren’t we going out with Erwin and Hanji tonight anyway, for dinner?” Levi turns his torso away, ready to end their conversation soon. Realisation dawned over Eren’s features and Levi didn’t quite suppress the chuckle that left him.

“Right! I’ll text you, Heichou.” Levi scowled at him again. Still, even after two months he wouldn’t call him by his name. Not even when they went out for dinner with their friends. It became a weekly routine – another one, yes. Levi was all about keeping a neat and tidy schedule – to go out for dinner on a Monday and a Friday. Mondays were Hanji and Erwin, Fridays were Armin and Mikasa.

“Levi” Levi corrected, but his words go amiss as the man laughs and turns away, waving over his shoulder at Levi.

“See you tonight, Heichou!”

“Fuck off, Jaegar.”

~~~

[Text From][Unknown]: We can watch the shining wednesday rite? Still think its BS

Levi’s head physically hurt from reading the text message, but found it so incredibly Eren that he couldn’t find it in himself to be pissed off; he took a moment to text the stupidly bright eyed man.

_[Text to][Jaegar]: Your grammar is by far the worst I’ve ever seen. Wednesday is fine, bring popcorn - I have a sweet tooth - Stupid brat._

Levi was already on his way to the diner that they usually met at, and when spotting Hanji and Erwin, minus Eren, he slid right into his usual seat by the window. Scowling at Hanji’s over enthusiastic grin and Erwin’s permanent sweet smile, Levi couldn’t help but roll his eyes at the pair of them and take a moment to wonder why on Earth he allowed himself to be friends with the pair.

_[Text From][Jaegar]: Yeah? Kiss my ass old man. Tell Erwin and Hanji I’ll be quick, kay Heichou?_

Levi Scowled.

_[Text to][Jaegar]: There are plenty of horny teenagers who would kill to be told to kiss your ass, kid._

“Jaegar’s taking his sweet fucking time” Levi scowled down at the message. Since when did Eren get the right to call him by his second name? The bratty kid couldn’t even use _Levi_ never-fucking-mind Heichou. He slid his phone away and flipped Hanji off, the look she had been giving him wasn’t one he cared to see often.

“You seem very pleasant~” Hanji cooed, Erwin slipped out a laugh looking over the menu. Levi could feel his glare, the guy did this _every_ week and still managed to order the same god damned thing.

“Fuck off, Shitty-glasses” Levi retorted. For an English teacher, his vocabulary was surprisingly made up mostly of expletives, all them had been directed towards Hanji.

“Are you being mean to Hanji again?” A voice walks on the thin line between scolding and amused and Levi promptly flips their visitor off before giving him a second look.

“Fuck off, Jaegar.” Levi frowns but otherwise doesn’t react when Eren throws himself down on the plush leather chairs. Eren gives a loud laugh and Hanji joins in. Erwin shoots Levi a glance before allowing himself to chuckle also. Levi rolls his eyes almost affectionately.

“How was your day?” Erwin asks Eren after they’d all ordered and Eren seemed almost taken aback by the question, shifting in his chair before answering.

“Rough, some of the classes are really good and learn really well and others-“ Eren leaves the statement hanging in the air and Erwin nods sympathetically.

“Try teaching science” Hanji shakes her head, the constant psychic smile on her face growing. “Looking after the tougher classes while allowing them to do an experiment is almost life threatening.”

“That’s because they’re trying to mimic you exactly, shitty-glasses.” Levi shoots at her, but Hanji only hoots with uncalled for laughter. Levi sighs deeply and wished momentarily that he was at home, allowing his head to be cradled by his hands, the bottom of his palm rested against his high cheekbones, holding his head. His head lifted when he felt a foot knock against his own. He shoots Eren a glare, only to see the bright eyed dick is already looking at him with a childish as fuck smile. Levi scowls but kicks his foot back, rougher.

Their game goes well into dinner, Levi trying to elicit a pained groan from Eren without giving them away, missing however and his foot connecting with another foot that definitely was not Eren’s

“Oh my god” Hanji exclaims loudly as she jerks her foot away, momentary pain glanced through her eyes, but mostly excitement. “Were you two playing footsie?!”

“No!” Levi says indignantly as he leans back into the leather, having pushed aside his plate of food. Levi’s denial was met with Eren’s very own answer, their answers colliding together, almost in tandem, had they been saying the same thing.

_“Maybe”_

“You’re such children”, Erwin laughs, shaking his head, seemingly extremely amused by the situation. There’s silence for a few moments following, but Levi guesses that Hanji just doesn’t do well in the quiet.

“Soooooo~” She sang happily, kicking out her feet beneath the dining table. “How’s the ol’ love life going?” She asked, light glinting from her glasses in an infuriatingly obnoxious way.

“I don’t have one. Fuck off.”

“Colourful language, Heichou” Levi flipped Eren off, and positively shoved him from where he sat down, careful that the brat didn’t actually fall to the ground. Erwin and Hanji seemed all too pleased with the interaction. Levi decided this was going to be a long night.

~~~

It surprisingly hadn’t been, and from the comfort of his own sofa he felt the night had gone by rather quickly. Usually the group stayed in the diner till much later, seemingly carrying on the conversation they would drop as they parted at the end of their meal, and this time including Hanji and Erwin into their arguments about the legitimacy of Levi’s analysis of the Shining; Erwin took Eren’s side and Hanji took Levi’s, oh good – He had a psychopath vouching for him, maybe he did have to rethink his thoughts on the movie.

Levi rubbed at his eyes, looking down at his phone which had just buzzed.

_[Text from][Jaegar]: you get home safely Heichou?_

Levi rolled his eyes harshly before realising that Eren wouldn’t be able to see the eye roll, however, when he received his next text, he downright scowled at his phone.

_[Text From][Jaegar]: you just rolled your eyes didnt you?_

_[Text to][Jaegar]: Fuck off, Brat. I’m fine. You get home alright?_

_[Text from][Jaegar]: yea i got home alrite gud 2 hear your ok_

Levi couldn’t suppress his groan at how awfully the man wrote.

_[Text to][Jaegar]: You type like a fucking four year old. Go the fuck to sleep, Eren._

_[Text from][Jaegar]: nd u type lke a 70 yr old G’dnight_

Levi scowled again, but couldn’t help but find the man’s texts even a little endearing. Levi frowned at himself but begrudgingly got himself up and set about his night time routine. Brushing his teeth, washing his face, climbing into his PJ bottoms and frowning as he lay flat and straight on the bed that seemed way too big and empty. Levi fell asleep.


	6. The Shining Idiot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi and Eren watch the Shining and Eren doesn't quite understand the concept.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah I just really want to thank you guys for reading and commenting and everything else, it means so much to me and I just want to get this show on the road.  
> Anyway, early update because I had my very first Final Exam today and I wanted to celebrate not dying.

After succumbing to the horrible truth that Levi undeniably had a sickeningly huge crush on a certain bright-eyed history teacher almost a week ago, Levi found himself becoming completely enamoured with the smallest things that the stupid brat did – much to Hanji’s glee. His breathy laugh left Levi just as breathless even though no such sound had left his lips, his incessant scratching of the nape of his neck when he was nervous, the flare of something odd and undeniably scary that crossed Eren’s usually friendly and excited gaze whenever he dealt with Jean – although they mostly seemed to be becoming closer friends. Everything the shitty kid did drove Levi crazy, and not crazy in a good way. It drove Levi crazy that he had allowed himself to becoming unnecessarily attached to a shitty brat who didn’t even text in the English fucking language.

However it was at this moment that Levi had believed he would never again be more attracted to a person the same way he was right now. He took a second to glance over at Eren while trying to explain for the _hundredth_ time that there were _no_ ghosts in the Shining. Absolutely _no_ supernatural elements at all, but the shitty kid couldn’t seem to grasp the concept. The main light had been switched off and the only light in the room emanated from the TV pressed against the centre of the wall, silhouetting the tall and lean frame of Eren.  The man was lying slumped against Levi’s sofa, his legs crossed beneath him much to Levi’s discontent, but the man had taken his shoes off and assured Levi that his socks were brand new. Levi scowled in answer. Eren settled his torso into the corner where the arm meets the back of the sofa, to both pay attention to the movie and watch Levi as he gave explanation, and the way that Eren’s shirt tightened around his chest was simply mouth-watering and the boyish grin that rested on Eren’s face so easily reminded Levi that the kid was almost ten years younger than himself. Levi frowned and pressed play on the movie again, passing by the first encounter with the ‘Twins’, whom had far deeper meaning that just “Those creepy twins from The Shining”.

Levi himself sat with one foot tucked beneath him – hey, he _knew_ where his feet had been - his shirt buttons loosened three from the top in order for him not to feel so damn constricted in his clothes while he desperately tried not to either kill Eren, or kiss the bumbling idiot.

“So there are no ghosts.” Eren mused, perplexed, and Levi had to admit that the look of puzzlement that crossed Eren’s features was absolutely adorable, although it was not enough to entirely free the frustration Levi felt.

“No. None, I’ve already told you this.” Levi sighed with mock exhaustion of having to deal with such a shitty brat.

“The girls?” Eren frowned, still confused.

“Manifestation of Danny’s denial about Jack’s abuse – the girls are abused by their father and so is Danny, it helps him cope. It’s so he realises he’s not the only one being abused by his ass-hole father.” Levi states as simply as he can. Eren doesn’t seem completely at ease with Levi’s explanation but pushes further.

“What about the bartender?” Eren asks again, ignoring the movie for the moment. Levi sighs again, exasperated – he wasn’t sure it was mock exasperation his time. No matter how fucking adorable the shit looked, he was so damn infuriating.

“Manifestation of Jack’s guilt; Jack needs to feel better about abusing Danny and the bartender does exactly that, he helps make Jack feel important” Eren seems more pleased with this answer than the one about the girls.

“Right okay” Eren stays silent for a moment, watching the movie. “Is the fact Wendy and Danny wear a lot of red, white, and blue important?” Levi was almost impressed, and he must have showed it in his usually stoic expression because Eren positively beamed.

“Look who’s been taking notes. You remember what I said the main themes were, right?”

“Man’s inhumanity towards man” Eren rattles off easily, nodding, “Mostly about the Native American’s, right?” Levi gave an impressed huff and nodded, to which Eren beamed again. Levi couldn’t help the eye roll that came over him, or the smile he tried so desperately to keep from appearing.

“The red, white and blue connects them to the European settlers that took the Native American land and forced them to the west, that’s why the Gold-Room is significant too, it’s related to the Gold rush, you know – where we basically blazed a trail west all the while destroying Native American land and their culture, no big.” Levi finishes, his eyes switching from Eren and the TV. Eren nods as if understanding, but Levi gets the feeling he really doesn’t understand, and Levi can’t really blame him – the themes are not easily picked up first time around.

They remain quiet for the rest of the movie, Eren at some point shifts to throw his legs over Levi’s. After Eren refuses to move his feet, Levi finds it futile to try and argue with a child and settles for giving Eren a dead leg, to which the man whines, but does not move his limbs. Levi often points out little details that could be easily missed throughout the movie. The increasingly claustrophobic setting they find themselves in, and the shortening passages of time throughout the movie, the fact that alcohol covers Jack’s reflection in the Gold-room scene, emphasising the point that Jack hides from reality behind booze, a substance that in western society is often noted as being linked with violence. Levi also points out that when Jack originally asks for Bourbon, The bartender gives him Jack Daniels and Levi explains that Jack Daniel’s is used to link Jack and Danny together and the fact that their names appear on the bottle is done in order to link the pair with violence. Eren nods along, giving his own thoughts where he assumed appropriate, more often than not he got confused by his analysis, but wasn’t all together awful.

When the movie drew to a close, Eren turned to face Levi directly and frowned at the ending of the movie, obviously having thought he would have a better explanation and when none came to him he promptly met steely cold eyes that had seemed to warm progressively throughout the evening.

“Come on then!” Eren exclaimed after a moment of staring, Levi chuckles despite himself and tries to put on a childishly innocent tone.

“What?” Eren grumbles and nudges Levi’s thigh with his foot, too frightened to actually outright kick him. Smart kid – Levi rolls his eyes and smirks over to Eren.

“Tell me about the end, you dick.” Eren’s words held no real venom and another chuckle dared leave Levi’s mouth.

“Watch your tongue, Jaegar. Look-“ Levi rewinds the DVD for a moment until he reaches the moment he’d wanted to, the moment just before the zoom in on the photo, the two candles in plain view. Levi points them out to Eren. “How many candles are there?” He asked his voice level.

“Two, obviously.” Eren rolled his eyes at the obvious answer and it earns him a smack against the back of his head.

“Wrong.” Levi said, child-like mockery flashing across his gaze that promptly made Eren pout.

“How many then?” Eren’s voice came out even more childish than Levi’s gaze had been, filled with a sulking tone that only Eren could master.

“Three.” Levi states simply. “Look, kid.” He points at the screen, he pauses and flickers a glance back at Eren, “It’s symbolic, of the ‘Cycle of Violence’ shit I was telling you about earlier?” Levi quirks a brow, to which Eren’s furrow, confusion continuing to grow in his gaze.

“How does this explain the ending?” Eren whines, earning another clap on the back of his head. Eren pouts further, frustration and anger building behind his gaze. “Oi, stop that, I don’t know, do I?” He frowns and it makes Levi positively laugh, rolling his eyes for the hundredth time that day.

“Oi, calm it, kid.” Levi warns unthreateningly. “Logically, the man in the picture is not Jack, but with rational thinking behind it, he must be a relative that looks strikingly like him.” Levi explains coolly. “So, the pair of candles are aflame, correct?” He raises an eyebrow questioningly to Eren who promptly flips him off and nods. “Fire has connotations of violence and destruction, while also very reminiscent of civilisation; you know the start of civilisation has been argued to have started when man first stumbled upon fire?” Levi still tries to explain it as best he could to Eren. “Well, the candles are representative of the cycle of violence. The first candle is representative of the ancestor of Jack; the second is representative of Jack.”

“And the third invisible candle?” Eren snarks, rolling his eyes, Levi scowled.

“The shadow, dipshit, not quite a candle yet – or not quite destructive yet – is representative of Danny. Danny will continue the cycle of violence.” Levi finishes, nodding towards the TV. Eren frowns momentarily and nodded, seemingly appeased by Levi’s explanation. Levi moved, shoving Eren’s legs from his lap, removing the DVD from the DVD player and setting the box in its rightful place in Levi’s alphabetically assorted collection.

“You can piss off now.” Levi muses over his shoulder. “You have work tomorrow, and so do I.” Levi reminds him before turning to face him directly, staring for a moment longer than necessary as Eren stretched out, clenching his fists and arched his back, waiting for the pop of bones to alert him that he had successfully removed the kinks from his bones. Levi frowns, trying to remind himself that Eren was still much younger than him.

“Mm’kay” Eren says lazily, moving to put his shoes on and walking over to rest his hand timidly on Levi’s shoulder, to which the man half-heartedly glared at him. “Thank you for tonight, maybe your analysis isn’t so full of shit after all.” Eren dared a laugh and escaped from Levi’s apartment before Levi could smack him upside the head.

Jesus Christ.

That kid would be the death of him.


	7. Unwanted Guests and Note Passing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren fucks with Levi's schedule and Levi decides to be as immature as Eren is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Deciding whether or not to post twice tonight since I did an exam today and I want to celebrate. Perhaps.  
> Also, I just was to thank jaegerfiend for actually taking time out of their day to actually draw something for me about this fic and wow that means so much.

On the third month of Eren working at Trost high school, he decided to fuck up the routine that Levi had been quite happy with and enter Levi’s classroom on a Thursday afternoon with no word of warning. Levi raised an eyebrow at the man entering but only a wave and a bright smile responded to his quirked brow. Levi frowned and rolled his eyes, watching as Eren pulled out a table and a chair for himself like Levi did in Eren’s class, right at the back in the centre. Levi faked a scowl, glaring at his students as they came in with bright smiles on their faces, excitement over flowing at noticing the history teacher in their class. The glances shared by the teenagers did not go unnoticed by Levi; why on earth was Mr. Jaegar here? The question was as clear as Eren’s eyes on their faces.

It was his juniors that Levi had this period, and with a new copy of the Great Gatsby – one that did not have a crease in its spine, much to Levi’s contentment – flipped it open to Chapter 2.

“The Valley of Ashes.” Levi announces to the class, and they all turn to the same chapter that Levi was on, an open book and their notes in front of them. Levi began teaching and after an unnerved ten minutes was able to ignore the too-bright eyes that watched Levi’s every movement. It was easy to do this, to lose himself in teaching, there were even kids who were eager to learn from him and weren’t all that perturbed by his crass nature. The world of the Great Gatsby was easy, the symbolism was obvious and the themes stood prominently in the novel, some may even be able to pick up on the important stuff on the first reading, if they tried.

“What is it that the Valley of Ashes represents?” Levi asked to the class, his eyes scanning over their faces individually. They knew the answer, all of them did, it was something Levi repeatedly drummed into their heads, _and it was simple._ Only a few voices answer his question with “ _The failure of the American dream”_ but Levi huffed sulkily and moved on. Levi was lost in his teaching again, speaking about the American dream and Gatsby’s unyielding hope, sometimes he would glance back at Eren and their eyes would meet and the man would blush, as if being caught doing something he shouldn’t. Levi would try and flip him off as discreetly as possible, to which Eren always laughed. He remained isolated in his bubble for a while longer, teaching them the basics again and setting them into group work, groups of six and one of five.

“Jaegar, join the group that’s lacking” Levi ordered and Eren saluted him proudly, laughing and shifting his chair from where the kid had been seated to drag it up to the table holding the five students. The action had gained a genuine smile from Levi and a slightly affectionate eye roll, to which the class was stunned into silence, they were pretty sure their teacher didn’t know _how_ to smile. Levi promptly glared at everyone once he’d realised his mistake. He allowed the class to write down their own thoughts on New York and the symbolism that it held, Levi decided to organise his workload for the rest of the day and tomorrow. Only when he heard some hushed whispers did he dare and glance back at the class, and Levi outright scowled at the sight before him.

“Oiy, kid, stop staring at Jaegar’s ass like you’re about to write a sonnet about it – however if the urge is so strong please do, it’ll give me something entertaining to read.” Levi spat the words out venomously, and although he used no names, several children glanced back at the teenager being reprimanded, all but Jaegar, who seemed blissfully ignorant till the moment Levi spoke up, his cheeks going bright red as he shuffles the chair he was sitting in closer to the table, so he wasn’t leaning over so much. The sudden flare of jealousy that Levi had felt slowly drained from his body and he punished himself internally for having such a stupidly childish feeling. The rest of the period went relatively well, Eren behaved himself as best he could, even holding back sarcastic comments in response to some of Levi’s comments, all stopped by Levi glaring at him, and the class gave some pretty good analysis points for New York, all the right things, worded entirely different from how Levi would put it, but whatever helped the kids learn.

When the bell rung to signal the end of the period, the class immediately shot from their seats, having been trying to discreetly pack briefly before the bell had actually rang. The class was soon empty, leaving Eren and Levi standing in an empty classroom. Eren fixed the table he had moved and tucked the chair back into its rightful place.

“I’ve decided I like watching you teach more than you watching me teach” Eren says when his eyes meet Levi’s suddenly again, and Levi’s eyes were not the warmed silver they had been while watching the Shining, but back to the freshly forged iron of a finely sharpened sword. Not that Levi was particularly angry that day, or even annoyed, it was just his usual gaze beautiful with a sense of _I could kill you if I wanted to._

“Funny, I came to that conclusion too.” Levi folded his arms over his chest and gave the lightest of smiles. “I think I traumatised that poor kid” Levi snickers, remembering the horrific embarrassment that had been permanently stuck to the boys face the entire period, not daring to look back at Eren at all.

“Jeal _ous_?” Eren teased, rocking back on his heels for a moment before laughing loudly, Levi slapped him on the back of the head.

“You were blushing like a bumbling idiot, weren’t you the one who wanted the attention?” Levi scowled, stepping back to look over his schedule, he’d have a class waiting outside right about now, his flicked his eyes back up to Eren in time to see him leave, throwing a wave over his shoulder and a wickedly evil gleam in his eyes and a large smile as he speaks up one more time.

“You’re avoiding my question, Heichou” Levi scowled and didn’t try and hide the middle finger he threw at Eren, Eren pretended to be honoured and placed his hands over his heart. Levi was so frustrated the thought of stomping his foot passed fleetingly through his mind.

“Fuck off, Jaegar.” He called after him, ushering his next class in.

~~~~~

“Oi, kid, I need you to take a note up to that shitty history teacher.” Levi calls out to one of the more reliable students in the classroom, a rather nice young girl who always made a point to nod at Levi when he glanced at her while teaching; he’d never admit it, but the action was extremely comforting. She seems frightened for a moment, jumping in her chair at the profanity leaving Levi’s mouth.

“Come on then, we don’t have all day” He urges her forward, slipping her a piece of paper before she musters the courage to speak up.

“Uh – history teacher?” She asks tentatively.

“Jaegar, got bright eyes and looks like he’s rolled out of bed and then rolled all the way to work.” That earns him a good laugh from the class and she now nods in comprehension. She promptly leaves with his note. Levi rolls his eyes at the entirely childish act. He does, however, look at the piece of paper he had received from one of Eren’s current students with silly doodles of Levi looking very displeased on it with the sentence ‘ _You still haven’t answered me, jealous?’_ Levi had scowled and the boy who had delivered the slip of paper seemed almost terrified by Levi’s reaction, he promptly wove the kid away and he seemed relieved to be away from the wrath of Levi’s glare. Levi’s own note held the simple message ‘ _No, stupid brat. I have better things to do with my time’_ Even Levi could tell that the words sounded a lie, and they were written, holding just about as much tone as Levi held normally anyhow. He scowled but decided he’d be just childish enough to doodle someone flipping the bird back to Eren.

The girl returned ten minutes later with a new slip of paper, she stood awkwardly for a moment, tugging at her shirt and looking extremely awkward for a moment. Levi quirked an eyebrow, had she read the note? What had the insatiable brat written to make the girl seem so nervous? Levi frowned and leaned forward in his chair glancing around; everyone else was working relatively quietly and did not pay attention to what was happening at the front of the class.

“What is it, spit it out, you look ill” He had been going to see that she looked _constipated_ but guessed his toilet humour was not appropriate in this situation.

“Well,” She began, seemingly more awkward about the predicament she had found herself shifting the weight from one foot to the other constantly. “Mr. Jaegar, he – uh – he wanted me to blow you a – uh – a kiss from him, but I-“ Levi held up a hand to stop her from continuing, he shook his head in a resigned manner.

“He’s such a child.” He explains momentarily before allowing her to go back to her chair and finish her work. Levi surveys the class, trying desperately to make the red that had appeared unwanted in his cheeks seem less obvious while making sure everyone was working. Levi frowned and dared a glance down at the note in his hand; he unfurled it and rolled his eyes.

‘ _You’re too cute, Heichou, I had no idea your feelings for me were so strong. I sent a gift, she seemed nervous when I asked her to do it, though.’_

Levi couldn’t help but roll his eyes; Eren had turned him into a fifteen year old who had a disgustingly huge crush on their next door neighbour. Levi’s pride kept him from writing another childish note – they were not thirteen years old in the middle of a classroom trying desperately to pass notes without the teacher finding out, after all – and quickly pulled his phone from his pocket, glancing around the class room and praying no one saw how unbelievably unprofessional Levi was being. That kid had fucked him already, and not in the pleasing way that Levi would have enjoyed.

_[Text to][Jaegar]: You have no idea how strong my feelings are for you, brat, right now murderous intent seems like an awfully strong feeling for you._

Levi once more glanced around the class and meeting the eyes of the girl who had previously taken the note for him, her eyes held some form of understanding and Levi only frowned, telling her with his best teacher eyes to get back to work, hoping his silent order had reached her and when she did look back down to her work Levi considered it a success. His phone vibrated almost silently.

_[Text from][Jaegar]: Aw Heichou theres a thin line between luv nd hate_

Levi couldn’t contain the tiny smile that fell against his lips so easily, and Levi almost resented Eren for being able to make him smile so easily, almost – but not quite. Levi types back a quick reply before replacing his phone back into his trouser pocket and he stands from his desk, allowing the class to have a discussion for the last twenty minutes of class. They would have to choose a topic of course, and Levi concedes to discuss the eerily supernatural free Shining, although he’d be lying if he said that the class conversation wasn’t a pleasing one.

_[Text to][Jaegar]: You’re going to be the death of me, kid, jeez._


	8. An Ignored Warning About Drunken Texts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren goes out and has a drink, only to leave Levi some embarrassingly gross texts that Levi can't help but blush at.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahahaha, Knocking these out like I hadn't planned on releasing them once a week.  
> (I had like an eight week lead and I was like "Fuck yeah, this is gonna be great, I wont have to worry about catching up" and now I'm like only three chapters ahead. Fuck. Again, if you want to find me - Tumlblr is "Itsaroosterteeththing.tumblr.com)

The next day – Friday - Eren had planned to spend his night out at a club with Mikasa and Armin. Both of whom had promised Levi not to leave Eren dying in a gutter, Mikasa seemingly horrified by the prospect of allowing her adoptive brother to die in such a way, or die at all, Levi supposes. Eren remained childishly sulky through texts, seemingly hurt by Levi’s distrust of Eren; Levi could only roll his eyes. The school day hadn’t been long, and the dinner with Armin and Mikasa had went about just as well as all the others, always ending in Levi trying to break Eren’s damn foot. The kid just couldn’t keep his feet to himself. Levi had parted them on their way out drinking, giving Mikasa and Armin a wave and Eren a pat on the back, warning him that if he received any drunken texts the man would be dead and buried before he recovered from his hangover. Levi had intended those words to sound scolding and intimidating, but by the large grin on Eren’s face, Levi supposed that some genuine concern had slipped through – damn.

The departure had been at nine, and with a glance at the clock Levi noted briefly that it was now eleven thirty and that he should probably sleep, but he really didn’t trust Eren to not do something stupid. So he decided to be the creepy old bastard he believed himself to be and waited up, silently hoping for a text from Eren or from the other two. As long as Levi knew Eren hadn’t passed out drunk in the gutter somewhere Levi could deal with whatever inebriated foolishness the man got up to. However, Levi could probably pass his late night escapades to his exhaustion of not having a good night sleep in almost a year; constant nightmares seemed to puncture his sleep. Levi was tempted to chalk his feelings for Eren up to sleep deprivation but knew that even after sleeping until he no longer knew what it felt like to not sleep an entire night was like that he would still be drowning in those fucking eyes.

Levi tried to make use of himself, cleaning his apartment and then cleaning it all over again just for good measure. The ache in his bones when he was done was welcoming and the relaxation Levi felt when popping his bones was worth the clinging dull ache. It was late now and Levi flicked another glance up to the clock – twelve thirty. Levi was mostly pissed off at himself for allowing himself to be so enamoured with such a shitty brat, and to worry about someone was never Levi’s forte so the feelings were all new to him and in the end he just ended up lying in a very un-Levi-like fashion but in an oh-so-very Eren-like fashion across his sofa, his head rested awkwardly on the base of arm of the chair where it met the cushion and his legs propped up on the parallel arm, his ankles crossing his other. Lounging around lazily was not something Levi did, not often, and lounging around lazily glaring at his phone waiting for a bright-eyed shitty kid was something he’d never done and not something he would be admitting any time soon. Levi shivered at the thought of Hanji getting a hold of this information. Levi had felt himself start to drift somewhere around one fifteen and was shocked awake not half an hour later by a sudden vibration against his chest. Levi scowled outwardly and sat up; popping his bones from what had been an uncomfortable position.

_[Text from][Jaegar]: yrou greta._

_[Text from][Jaegar]: hoem fine_

Levi let out a breath that distantly made Levi think that he’d been holding it since he’d woken up to the text. He frowned at himself and quickly tapped out a reply, yawning out to the empty air and rubbing his eyes vigorously until he saw stars.

_[Text to][Jaegar]: Pretty sure your English is better when you’re drunk; I didn’t think I’d see the day. Good, have fun?_

Eren took a moment to reply, and Levi couldn’t help but imagine a drunken Eren fumbling with the keyboard on his phone, trying to send a half legible text

_[Text from][Jaegar]: your rsally prettu, liek realyl. All brododign eyes ad stuff hot_

Levi read and re-read the text multiple times and scowls at himself for how his stomach had knotted together and his heart jumped into his throat. He hated it, hated Eren and hated feeling like a lovesick fifteen year old. He scowled and sent his reply.

_[Text to][Jaegar]: Now you’re really drunk. Go to bed._

_[Text from][Jaegar]: is your ahir as sosft as it looks? I thnik about stroking it somehines_

Levi sucked in a breath and stood abruptly from the couch, storming into his bedroom and removing his clothes, folding them neatly on the nearest chair to remind him to put them in the washing later. Levi promptly climbed into bed and frowned down at his phone again, trying to think of a reply that didn’t sound as if Levi was about to rip the little shits head off. Levi frowned, resigned as he tapped out the next reply, the sound of his phones clicking filled his empty room, and not for the first time Levi realised how empty his bed was.

_[Text to][Jaegar]: Next time you have the urge, don’t be a cowardly little shit and just fucking do it. Now go the fuck to sleep, kid, you’re going to have a killer hangover in the morning._

_~~~_

Levi felt like he’d been drinking with Eren, his temples were pounding and a raw ache had settled through his stiff bones and a dryness filled his throat. Levi coughed a few times, trying to at least get rid of some of the grittiness he felt.

Padding to the bathroom and starting his morning routine; clean the apartment, brush his teeth and then soak in the shower for around half an hour. Slowly, Levi noticed, as the heat pounded into his shoulder blades that the knots in his shoulders and back were slowly loosening and he was becoming more relaxed than he had felt since yesterday at dinner. When Levi forced himself to leave the comfort of the shower he dried himself rather quickly and slipped into his usual weekend wear, some comfortable jeans, a long sleeved t-shirt and a polo shirt over that. It was only then that Levi dared look at his phone for the messages he knew he had received when glancing at the time this morning; he had been putting off looking at them till he had no choice. Ten. Ten text messages from that stupid brat.

_1:47am_

_[Text From][Jaegar]: are u serious iv alays wante d to_

_[Text From][Jaegar]: heichou! u cant sya suff likke that nd not mean it_

_[Text From][Jaegar]: u hve frmal pemsision to stroke my hair 2 then_

_[Text From][Jaegar]:sum guy hit on me 2night gross didnt look like u a bit_

_[Text From][Jaegar]:u have nice eyes heichou like clouds ina thuunserstrom nice_

_[Text From][Jaegar]:ok sleep. Night heichou_

_8:13am_

_[Text From][Jaegar]: oh my god my head heichou i think i threw up on Armin’s bed_

_[Text From][Jaegar]: i absolutely did throw up on his bed oh god_

_[Text From][Jaegar]: did you mean what you said last night about being a coward_

_[Text From][Jaegar]: heichou?_

Levi scowled again, not at the messages, no. He was scowling at how his pulse had picked up and he could feel his heart against his ribcage, and he could feel the heat rise in his cheeks. Levi did not blush, he did not. Nope. Never. Levi couldn’t help but feel contempt towards the fluttering feeling he had in his stomach because it was so much simpler to pretend he didn’t feel anything at all, that way there was no room for hurt, no expectations that couldn’t be met. He tapped out his reply without really looking at the screen.

_[Text to][Jaegar]: You’re insufferable, brat. If you’re gonna hit on me, do it face to face, kid, and preferably sober._

_[Text to][Jaegar]: Yes, I meant it. Jeez, kid, what do you take me for?_

Levi glanced towards the clock and deeming it a reasonable time grabbed his jacket and left for his bench, for his place - his place that the bratty kid had entered without Levi allowing him in. Levi scowls and could only hope that it was too early for anyone to be sitting by a lake brooding about brats with stupidly bright eyes and sun kissed skin.

Levi could have praised the gods when he saw that his bench was empty. He could brood and mope on his own today, even if his brooding and moping was going to be mainly love sick thoughts. Levi read the texts over and over again before typing out another message.

_[Text to][Jaegar]: Dammit, kid. You’ll be the death of me._


	9. Titans and Coconuts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hanji and Erwin have an interesting conversation about titan sized humans and Eren finally gets to touch Levi's hair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> History exam tomorrow.  
> I needed something to take my mind off of it.  
> Enjoy.  
> I love you guys.

Monday morning brought a grouchy Levi back into an overly chatty lounge room filled with a superfluous amount of people he could not deal with properly until he had at least a cup of coffee in his hands. Levi took his usual seat next to Erwin while he babbled on to Hanji, who wasn’t in her own lounge _again._ Levi absently looked at his phone, noticing he’d missed a few texts from Eren; one telling Levi that he was on his way to the English lounge. Levi scowled to himself, _why can’t they just stay in their own lounges._ Hanji laughed brightly at something Erwin said to her and he scowled at the both of them. The grumpy man turns his attention back to his phone and his messages.

_[Text from][Jaegar]: i might take you up on youre offer in our free period today_

Levi remains confused while he texts Eren back a simple ‘ _What offer? I don’t offer many things, brat’_ and did his best to remain left out from Hanji and Erwin’s conversation, somehow being pulled in against his will anyway. He had become quite invested in their conversation on the likelihood of fiendishly large humans with no reproductive organs or digestive systems, Hanji of course babbling on about the biology behind something like that becoming a possibility, and Erwin expressing the need for three separate forces. Levi rolled his eyes and commented blatantly that for something like that to happen; it would likely set the world back about two thousand years. Levi was so busy listening to Hanji and Erwin that he didn’t notice the weight that had dropped itself into the seat next to Levi, only coming to attention when he felt a knee knock against his own. On his way to reprimand the idiot that thought about touching Levi without his permission, he found himself stopping the moment his grey eyes met Eren’s what-ever-the-fuck coloured eyes.

“Oh, it’s you. Won’t even waste my voice.” Levi half teased before turning back to Erwin and Hanji, listening to their conversation which had become more heated. Erwin had always loved world building and Levi could almost see the excited cogs turning in his head.

“What’re they talking about?” Eren murmurs, leaning across to enter the conversation. Levi frowned at Eren’s proximity and shoved his face back.

“Hypothetical theories of how the world would be if there were giant humans who ate normal humans for no reason.” Levi stated, leaning back on the sofa.

“I’d kill ‘em. I’d kill ‘em all.” Eren says, shockingly determined for a conversation that was purely speculative.

“Calm it, kid, we’re not saying they’re real, or ever will be. Hanji brought it up, who would have guessed she’s a fucking psycho – oh yeah _, everyone_.” He turns to glare at Hanji who grins brightly in reply, waving to Eren before Levi flips her off half heartedly.

While he absentmindedly was checking his phone, he noticed he’d received another text from Eren just before he’d entered the class.

_[Text From][Jaegar]:i can stroke youre hair_

Levi found it very hard to meet Eren’s gaze after that, not without scowling anyway.

~~~

The rest of the day passed slowly, nothing seemed to be happening correctly for him. His juniors weren’t catching the concept of the shirts in the Great Gatsby and what they represent when Daisy begins to cry into them, and his seniors weren’t grasping the concept of the fact that there were two Grady’s in The Shining, which Levi didn’t think was _that_ complicated. He’d almost snapped on more than one occasion, his frustration being taken out mostly on Eren whom had received the brunt of Levi’s anger through text messages throughout the day.

Now it was last period, however, and Levi had found himself moving mechanically to Eren’s classroom, and setting himself in Eren’s swivel chair, leaning back and rubbing his temples vigorously to rid the headache he had.

“Heichou, I’ve never seen you this stressed before.” Eren comments idly, sitting on a desk on the other side of the classroom.

“It’s Levi, call me fucking Levi” Levi muttered loudly, pressing further into his temples. Fuck, wasn’t this supposed to relieve the pain? Levi sighed and dropped his hands, opening his eyes to look over at Eren, who was quietly snickering to himself. “Something funny, brat?” Absently, Levi thought that this could be his catchphrase was he on a cheesy sitcom.

“You remind me of a grumpy old cat when you’re in one of your moods.” Eren laughed louder this time, unabashed. The sound brought a soft smirk to Levi’s lips and he flipped Eren off playfully. Levi suddenly stood from his seated position, the chair rolling back from the impact of Levi’s inner knees knocking against it. He made his way to stand in front of Eren and knocked the back of his head.

“Ow! What was that for!?” Eren whined half heartedly, rubbing the back of his head. It was Levi’s turn to laugh, although it came out sounded more like an affectionate chuckle whilst he shook his head.

“For leaving embarrassing drunk messages on my phone.” Levi said, shifting his weight to rest on his left foot and folding his arms over his chest, an amused smirk left on his face as he watched Eren’s pout slowly become an embarrassed smile.

“Oh” He said simply, making Levi roll his eyes and laugh. The room became oddly silent then, and Levi was about to break the comfortable air of not talking when Eren raised his hand tentatively, his eyes having softened and now looked nothing like a Floridian sea during a storm, but more like the Caribbean sea in mid-summer. Levi watched him carefully, his eyes widening a fraction as Eren’s fingers slowly nestled themselves inside of Levi’s hair. The moment his fingers were entangled in the long stands of Levi’s hair, Eren smiled warmly, so warm that it passed over to Levi and the warmth in the pit of his stomach grew till there wasn’t an inch of coldness left in his body. Eren’s fingers idly played with Levi’s hair; briefly he traced the line that divided his hair into the undercut. Levi unintentionally leaned his head towards Eren’s hand, eliciting a wide eyed caught-in-the-headlights look from Eren and a deep shade of red to pool in his cheeks.

“As soft as I thought it’d be” Eren says cheerily, as if he’d come home to find his most precious possession.

Levi could do nothing but stare at Eren because his fingers felt _good_ in his hair, relaxing and immediately removing the headache that had been killing Levi all day. Not only was it relaxing, but his fingers were gentle and soft and Levi couldn’t help the image of waking up in the morning with Eren next to him, Levi still groggy and grumpy from sleep, but Eren still idly plays with his hair because he knows it pleases Levi. Levi’s eyes had dropped some, hoping the length of his hair would cover his expression, but now he looked up, his eyes meeting Eren’s as he reaches up just as tentatively as Eren had and sets his fingers in Eren’s hair and wasn’t surprised to find that it was rough and thick and when played with, sent waves of Eren’s coconut shampoo (even his fucking hair was tropical) to his nostrils. Levi frowned momentarily, earning him a sheepishly concerned look from Eren.

“W-what?” Levi frowned at Eren’s question.

“I thought it was impossible for you to be any more fucking tropical than you were. shitty tanned skin, fucking eyes like the Caribbean fucking ocean, and now hair that smells like fucking coconuts.” Levi sighs, exasperated as he fiddled with Eren’s hair, enjoying the roughness in between his fingers, he was content to just stand like this with Eren, with each other’s fingers lost in the others hair.

Each other’s fingers lost in the others hair.

_Holy fuck._

They were standing, well – Levi was standing, Eren was sitting on a table – in the middle of Eren’s classroom with their fingers entangled in the others hair. Levi’s fingers, which had been running over the hair at the nape of Eren’s neck, stopped suddenly as he took in the full situation, and Levi was pleased to see that Eren had paused himself, looking at Levi with just as much confusion as Levi felt.

_Fun fact of the day: Friends don’t lovingly card their fingers through each other’s hair while staring into each other’s eyes. Too much for even a ‘No Homo’._

“You’re going to be the fucking death of me kid.” Levi muttered, his gaze flicking to Eren’s mouth momentarily before thinking: _Aw, fuck it._ Letting his fingers drop Eren’s shoulder and watching his hands carefully as if they might go and do something he didn’t want them to, moved to fix Eren’s tie, which was squint – not that it ever sat perfectly, Levi was positive the kid dressed himself in the dark – and when it was fixed Levi grasped tightly to the tie and yanked Eren forward. The suddenness of the movement startled Eren, but his sound of surprise was taken over by another sound of surprise as Eren’s lips fell against Levi’s. Levi wasn’t surprised by the warmth, he expected him to be warm, just like the rest of his personality – what Levi was shocked about, was the taste of peppermint that filled his mouth. Memories of the scarf that Eren gave him flooded his mind and only made him pull tighter against the man, deepening the kiss. Levi’s teeth grazed over Eren’s bottom lip before he leaned further into Eren and was instantaneously glad that Eren was sitting down, Levi would not have to stand on this tip toes in order to kiss him.

They were like that for a while, their fingers losing themselves in the others hair once more, but this time instead of tentative ruffling and running their fingers seamlessly through neat strands, their hair was no being pulled lightly and tugged playfully, fingers grasping clumps of hair in order to keep the other in the position. Their lips worked seamlessly together, and only on a few occasions was the moment broken by Eren trying to tilt his head the opposite way and banging Levi’s nose with his own, the pair would dissolve into giggles though, and their kiss would soon continue. Their tongues folding over each other, drinking each other in, each time their tongues connected, further warmth spread through Levi, and he felt like he could be used to light up the darkest corners of the world – and in this moment, he would do it all for Eren.

When Levi finally found the resolve to pull away from Eren’s mouth, he was happy to see that they were swollen and bruised and wet with Levi’s momentary lapse of muscular coordination of, you know, roughly making out with him. Levi’s smile was wide and genuine and Eren’s own gaze of shock at a smiling Levi soon gave way to a shit eating grin that had Levi’s stomach aflutter again, to which he internally swore. They were both breathless and dishevelled. Eren’s hair didn’t much look different, having always been able to walk into school with the just-had-sex look. Levi, however, was not used to his hair being anything other than perfect, and now that he was sporting the Just-Violently-Made-Out hairdo, he wasn’t sure he wanted to change it anytime soon.

“That-“ Levi shook his head, laughing breathlessly.

“Shut up, brat. Don’t ruin the moment.” Levi seemed to hedge his bets and stole another chaste kiss before moving back. “Go, Go. We have dinner with Hanji and Erwin tonight. Don’t be late.” Eren’s laugh was as breathless as Levi’s was and his cheeks were apparently tinted red forever, not that Levi disapproved, really.

“Does this mean it’ll be a double date?” Eren’s eyes almost _sparkled_ with fucking cheer and Levi had to hold back a smack to the back of the head.

“Hanji and Erwin aren’t dating.” Levi said simply, turning back to grab his things from where he’d thrown them upon entering Eren’s class room.

“And us?” Eren asked, hope evident in his tone. Levi scowled at his heart, which seemed to miss a beat. Levi was sure that was detrimental to your health, it probably shouldn’t happen.

“I said don’t ruin the moment you shitty little brat.” Levi quipped, rolling his eyes in mock exasperation. Eren seemed to understand it wasn’t something to be talked about now, and merely gave Levi one of those world winning smiles and waved and left with his things.

“See you at dinner then, Heichou.” Levi scowled, calling out his name again to Eren, who only laughed in response.

Eren will kill him. Levi has no idea how, yet, but he was sure of it. The kid had too much already and Levi wasn’t sure how comfortable he was with giving up more. Relationships were not an area of expertise for Levi. However -

Oh no.

Oh fuck _no._

Levi would have to confide in _Erwin_ and _Hanji_.

Kill him now and let it be over with.


	10. Friday Night is Pizza Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren and Levi go to a club with their friends and leave early to return to Levi's place for some hot, steamy, spicy pizza.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SURPRISE POST.  
> (I guess all of mine are surprise posts, gotta keep you on your toes, you know.)  
> This is by far my longest chapter written so far.   
> (I probably shouldn't even be posting it because I have a strict three chapters ahead rule, and technically I'm only two and a half. Woops.)

Levi fully intended to keep whatever relationship he had with Eren the way it was; making out whenever they were alone. However, each time they shared a moment like that and each time Levi was sure he could be content just resting against Eren’s chest forever; Eren had to fuck it up by asking what they were. Levi would always scowl and tell him that it didn’t matter, always to Eren’s chagrin. Although, the brat didn’t seem quite so upset about it that he never came back, and never refused Levi a kiss. The brat also could not have been all that upset with Levi because he, Hanji and Erwin had been invited out drinking with them that night – a Friday, Eren was absurd and ridiculous but he wasn’t down-right idiotic. Levi supposed it was better this way, although he fully trusted Armin and Mikasa, Levi couldn’t help but worry about his shitty little brat. Not that Eren was his; Levi had to keep reminding himself.

“Tonight’s going to be so much fun” Eren practically hummed his excitement from the passenger seat. Levi was driving and Armin and Mikasa were sitting happily in the back. Eren always talked about how protective Mikasa was of Eren, but Mikasa seemed to have found a deep respect and trust in Levi – he could see it when she didn’t realise she was flicking glances between the driver and the passenger. Levi had to set a hand on Eren’s knee to catch his full attention, and it was almost humorous how long he stared at Levi’s hand before slowly glancing up at Levi. Levi had to laugh, even if it was just a short burst of air leaving his nose.

“Shut up, brat. We’re not even there yet and you’re already acting like a drunk horse.” Levi commented, rolling his eyes before shifting his attention back onto the road – if he was being honest, he half expected a Jean joke from the man next to him. He was quite disappointed when Eren didn’t make one. Levi hadn’t noticed that he’d left his hand on Eren’s knee till the man laced their fingers together and Levi dared a glance down. He frowned momentarily, he could try and kid himself and tell himself he didn’t really care, or that he wasn’t _that_ attached to Eren. Levi couldn’t even kid himself. He tore his hand from Eren in an act of defiance and the only retaliation was a loud laugh. Levi tuned out Eren and allowed the trio to muse over the planned antics of the night. Levi couldn’t help the soft smile that fell over his lips as they talked excitedly. Eren had told him how they’d grown up together, how they always depended on each other, no one person depending more on anyone else. It was how they worked. Levi liked that, he hadn’t had anyone growing up, and having people like Mikasa and Armin would have made growing up a whole lot easier.

“Hanji and Erwin are meeting us there.” Eren said, glancing from his phone to the rest of the people in the car. “Captain Eyebrows says you should hurry up. Hanji’s already drinking.” Levi rolled his eyes and frowned deeply before turning into the street they were looking for. The club up ahead of them wasn’t too big, and not too fancy which Levi liked.

~~~

Hanji was drunk, and much to Levi’s chagrin so was everyone else. Levi scowled, although now that he thought about it, the weight of the drink he had inhaled that night had fully hit him the last time he dared piss in the men’s toilets. Levi supposes the act in itself was a red flag for Levi’s inebriated state, he just liked complaining about others having fun.

At some point in the night there had been others to turn up. Sasha and Connie turned up with Reiner and Bertholdt who had been dragging a very sour faced blonde behind them. Levi acknowledged them all with a nod and a raise of his glass, to which he received a greeting from everyone. He turned to search for Eren who was talking animatedly with Armin and Erwin over something, the brat incredibly excitable when drunk. Levi dared a smile that didn’t go unnoticed by Hanji, who squealed with delight and drew Levi into her chest, squeezing Levi’s small frame against her own tightly in an affectionate hug. She wouldn’t let go till Levi smacked her upside the head. When he was perched lightly on the bar stool again he glanced around, picking out the people he recognised and watched them thumping and - what they would claim to be - dancing to the heavy music that weighed them down. He found Eren, though, and noticed he had been looking at him too. Eren suddenly beamed at Levi and made his way purposefully to the shorter man, and the determination in his wavering and faltering steps was so endearing Levi despised it and decided never to think of the sway of his hips ever again. Ever, never ever.

“Heichou~” Eren crowed in Levi’s ear when he leaned over, his breath hot against Levi’s skin and Levi only pushed Eren’s face away when the thick aroma of whiskey and vodka hit his nose. The brat had been mixing his drinks. His mouth set in a tight light, although Levi was sure his eyes gave away the affection he felt – which he hated too.

“Fuck off.” Was Levi’s slurred reply, although Levi could already feel the giddiness that came with a deeply inebriated Levi start to pull at the corners of his mind and flood it with a certain mixture of joy and nerves that was unknown to the shorter man till now.

“Come on, let’s dance.” Eren pleaded, taking Levi’s hand and tugging like a dog on the end of a lead. Levi couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled from his mouth and he downed his drink, taking a moment to push past the initial burn of his throat and the dizziness he felt in his head that came with downing a drink – as well as the sudden feeling in his stomach of ‘ _Oh God, I am going to throw up, and it won’t be pretty or clean’_. He stumbled after Eren as he was dragged from the stool onto the dance floor.

Levi could lie and say that he was a great dancer; seductive and slow, full of hips and wiggles and suggestive glances – but this would be a lie. Levi was an introvert, and being an introvert did not entail dancing expertly, not for Levi at least. Levi watches Eren, his hands on Levi’s hips and urging him to move in tandem with the taller man and in the end Levi succumbed, allowing Eren to move Levi’s body for him. Eren pressed their hips flush against one another and swayed them to the harsh and quick beat of the music. Levi felt like an idiot to begin with, but he was intoxicated and the alcohol in his blood took precedence; making him confident. Levi soon was able to sway and dance and generally look as big of a douche as anyone else inside of a bar at this time in the morning.

It didn’t take long for Eren’s lips, which had at some point found their way to Levi’s neck leaving feather light but sloppy kisses on the skin there, to move and find Levi’s lips. They were warm and wet and chaotic in a way that even Levi had to admit was incredibly intoxicating in a way that had nothing to do with drink. In his inebriated mind, it felt only right to roll his hips into Eren, and the sound of appreciation he earned in return was enough to make Levi change their sloppy kiss into a desperate and needy make out. Their lips fell together easily, Eren’s teeth sometimes grazing Levi’s lip and biting down without any real force, as their kiss became more desperate, so did their hands. The moment teeth collided with teeth; Eren’s hands had moved from their position on Levi’s hips to hold Levi’s face to his, one hand rested on the back of Levi’s neck and the other nestled into Levi’s hair. The moment Eren decided it’d be a good idea to suck on Levi’s tongue; Levi had shoved his fumbling fingers up Eren’s shirt, oblivious to the crowd of people gyrating and grinding around them.

“Mine.” Levi said simply, his breath hitched and broken and gruff from the kiss, but still managed to hold some authority, in the end Levi allowed his fingers to fall from Eren’s chest. Eren nodded obediently, his cheeks red and his lips swollen. “Tell your sister you’re leaving, I’m drunk, but not drunk enough to think she wouldn’t kill me for taking you.” Levi acknowledged, shoving a lazy hand into Eren’s shoulder in a lame attempt to get him to hurry.

When Eren rushed off, Levi was free to think about the kind of state he was in. His head was swimming with drink, it felt heavy and thick and the line between things that were acceptable to do in public, and things that were unacceptable to do in public were deeply blurred. It did feel oddly like the room was spinning, but Levi knew that logically it was not and that everything had remained stationary. He waited patiently for Eren to return, and when he did he took him by the hand and dragged him from the building.

Freezing cold air hit Levi like a ton of bricks and he physically had to stop moving. If Levi had thought his mental state had been bad within the bar full of hot sweaty bodies, it was nothing to the waves of inebriation that fell over him now, and in a fit of insanity a giggle bubbled from his lips.

“You just fucking giggled.” Eren stood shocked, his cheeks pink from the cold and the drink. Levi thought for a moment that was adorable, how he flushed when he was drunk, even his ears turned red. It took Levi’s entire willpower not to nibble at his ears and kiss sloppily at his cheeks at that precise moment. Again, the line between accepted and unacceptable acts in public where either blurred, or Levi would soon decide he didn’t care.

“And what of it, brat?” Levi’s voice held no real venom and Levi took that moment to consider Hanji’s comments on his intoxicated self. She constantly babbled on about how _emotive_ he was while drunk, and couldn’t help but turn into a therapist and deduce it was the alcohol tearing down fifty meter walls from around him. Which, in all fairness probably wasn’t all that much of a discovery, Hanji was an idiot like that.

_News Flash: Alcohol makes you forget you had walls to begin with._

“It was adorable.” Eren comments, cupping Levi’s cheek, Levi swatted at his hand and pouted. Eren looks momentarily hurt, and the look is enough to have Levi grab his hand as a truce, pulling Eren’s dumb hand up to kiss his knuckles. Levi hails a cab and one pulls in front of them not long after. He shoves Eren into the back and climbs rather ungracefully in afterwards. He called his address to the driver and nothing more was said. Eren’s hands snaked around Levi’s neck, clasping themselves there while his lips found Levi’s throat once more. It took all of Levi’s willpower not to strip Eren down in the cab, but he had to remind himself of public decency, and of how absolutely disgusting taxi cabs were.

When the driver arrived, Levi had to fumble with his wallet while he dragged money out, counted it and recounted it around three times before nodding to the driver and clasping his hand in Eren’s again.

Levi didn’t know when the change occurred, but somewhere between exiting the cab and paying the driver, his sexual drive had diminished and hunger replaced it. He thought back over his day and noted he hadn’t eaten much. No wonder he was such a state now.

“Come, brat.” For the second time that night, Levi had another fit of pure insanity and he let go of Eren’s hand to jump onto Eren’s back, his legs crossing tightly around Eren’s waist and arms fell loosely over Eren’s shoulders. Levi thought that this was the most comfortable position he had ever been in, and took the moment to marvel over Eren’s warmth, and with Levi’s body pressed flush against him, there wasn’t a part of Levi that wasn’t completely touched by his heat. The sudden weight on Eren’s back and Eren’s current lack of coordination meant that he wavered and was very near toppling over, he snorted and laughed while doing so. In the end he caught himself, and laced his fingers upside down with Levi, the position of his hands was awkward, but the feeling of Levi’s hand against his own was comfortable.

“Go.” He ordered, shoving his freezing cold nose into Eren’s back, causing him to yelp. The noise made Levi giggle again and Eren could only snicker in return. Begrudgingly Eren opened the door to Levi’s apartment building – this thing should really have a lock. Levi – from the comfort of Eren’s back – gave Eren directions, and even going as far as giving him his keys so that Levi wouldn’t have to peel himself from the piggy back ride quite yet. Eren made the precarious journey up the three stories to Levi’s apartment, his drunken state causing him to waver and almost drop Levi multiple times. Neither of them seemed to notice, however, too lost in their chortling to pay much attention to the danger of someone falling. They reached Levi’s door soon enough. He snuggled once more into Eren’s back, his nose freezing still.

When they – or more accurately: Eren – stumbled into Levi’s apartment, Eren had stopped to marvel over the cleanliness of the smaller man’s home, having not expected any less. Eren had, of course, seen the apartment before while watching various movies that Levi forced him to watch while he analysed. But seeing the apartment drunk was like seeing the apartment for the very first time again. Eren couldn’t help the excited laughter that left his lips, and soon Levi was laughing into Eren’s back for no apparent reason. It occurred to Levi for a moment that he had become entirely and utterly enamoured with this man, and decided that he couldn’t ever let him go – trying to deny his feelings now was hopeless and ultimately pointless (not that the realisation would stop him in doing so). Levi’s laughter died down as he unfolded his legs from around Eren’s waist and let himself fall unceremoniously to the ground, eliciting more laughter from the pair.

After their fit of giggles had died down, Levi faintly noticed an emptiness in his stomach. Their previous hunger for each other had been forgotten in the realisation of how hungry they were for actual food, or in the realisation that Eren was also as hungry as Levi was.

“I’m hungry.” He said curtly, but his tone was surprisingly warm, just like his gaze which had returned to the colour of molten silver – precious and warm.

“God, me too. Can we get pizza?” Eren asks, excitement filling his eyes and not for the first time Levi recognised a completely reckless and irresponsible teenage boy within Eren.

“I’ll order now.” Which he did, it took a moment for Levi to remember where he stashed the menus, and even longer to punch in the right number – one embarrassing phone call with a sleeping lady later and another, just as awkward, conversation with the pizza place and Levi had secured them an extra large with pepperoni and spicy chicken. While they waited for the pizza, they both laid sprawled on the sofa, complaining loudly about how hungry they were and how much of a shit Eren was and how much of an ass Levi was. The pair had actually began to drift in their positions – Eren lying horizontally along the length of the sofa with Levi curled on top of him to the side, his legs slotting between Eren’s and his head nestled into his chest. He held one of Eren’s hands in his own, absentmindedly running his thumb over Eren’s index finger while Eren’s free hand was lost in Levi’s hair. It was easy, Levi thought, to do this, to be here. The thought terrified him because it had never been easy before, never had it felt comfortable to be curled up on someone’s chest. Eren scared him, and it was a thought he could only comprehend while drunk.

The door had knocked, however, and Levi shot up from Eren’s chest, a man who began cackling at the ferocity in Levi’s step. Levi paid the man and gave a curt goodbye before turning back to find that Eren had moved and now stood just in front of Levi. Levi looked up to the towering asshole and the most genuine and warm smile crept onto Levi’s face, and for a moment Eren just stared at Levi before dipping his head to kiss the shorter man. Eren took Levi’s moment of distraction to steal the box of pizza away from him and skip away to the living room rug, opening the box and staring at it like it had been the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.

An entire pizza – and a conversation regarding Eren’s favourite quotes – later, and the pair have continued their position on the couch, with Eren lying beneath Levi, his arm cradled around Levi’s shoulders in order to card his fingers through Levi’s hair, and the other holding Levi’s waist. As much as Levi hates to admit it, his heart was growing fonder of the idiot and seeing him lying beneath Levi made his heart swell as he really took in the mussed brown hair and the slightly tan skin, taking note of how his eyelashes framed his eyes. For a split second Levi understands artists, because if there was so much beauty held in one expression, in one face, then why on earth would you not want to recreate it. He could tell Eren was starting to drift because the rise and fall of his chest had slowed, and his eyelids remained closed. Before Levi allowed himself to succumb to slumber, he laid his ear against Eren’s chest and rested his fingertips above where Eren’s heart was. He sighed softly, the heaviness and dizziness had not left his mind, but he felt his mind clear whenever he glanced at Eren’s sleeping expression and found himself murmuring one of his own favourite quotes before allowing himself to fall into a state of comfortable unconsciousness.

“ _If music be the food of love, then play on.”_


	11. Saturday Morning Wake up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi wakes up and knows roughly two things  
> One: Holy fucking shit how did he get in bed   
> and  
> two: Holy fucking shit, Eren spent the night. In his bed.

When Levi awoke from his blissful dream, he was aware of two things. One; he had been moved - Levi was now lying in his bed with the sheets covering his body, and the comfortable down-filled quilt warmed his body. And two; there was a body beside him – although, the chest he had been nuzzling his face into should have been the first thing Levi noticed. With his eyes open the light from his windows shone through brilliantly, illuminating the room that was white and plain while simultaneously remaining intriguing. He glanced up and saw that, yes, indeed Eren had stayed the night. This was not supposed to happen, but the more that Levi watched the subtle rise and fall of his chest as well as felt it from his position - Levi’s face pressed into Eren’s ribcage - he could tell he wasn’t angry, not at all. Levi even allowed a soft smile to cross his face as he drank in the sight of a sleeping Eren beside him, one arm slung over his waist, securing his grip on Levi and the other beneath Levi’s crisp white pillow. The light in the room caught the very subtle black highlights in Eren’s hair and the smattering of freckles that would go unnoticed unless you were in this exact position, so faint and delicate they could go unnoticed forever. Levi noticed, after a moment, that Eren and Levi had been stripped to nothing more than boxers and whatever shirt they had been wearing the night before.

Levi had to scowl at the thought of Eren undressing them both and then carrying Levi to bed, surely the man had been just as drunk as Levi had been. Surprisingly, Eren didn’t appear to be the type of person to take such care while incapacitated. Although Levi was pissed that Eren had managed to remain mobile long enough to get them both to bed; Levi couldn’t deny that it was extremely heart warming.

Levi was not one to deny himself the simple pleasures in life, not when his own simple pleasure lay blissfully oblivious to Levi’s sudden bout of outward affection. And with the knowledge that Eren wouldn’t find Levi staring more than a little bit adoringly at him, Levi gave himself a few more minutes of watching Eren and _really_ taking him in. Levi could not deny that Eren was undoubtedly attractive; tanned skin and dark hair that contrasted brilliantly with his teal-green eyes, tall and lean and undeniably muscular in a way that broadened his shoulders and filled out his otherwise slender frame, a dress sense that a blind man would find horrendous and disgusting, a determination that caught everyone in the nearby vicinity into it. It was all very endearing and so undeniably Eren that Levi couldn’t help but continue falling for a loud-mouthed, short-tempered little brat.

At that moment, with his face smoothed and relaxed, Levi thought that waking up next to him wouldn’t be such a bad thing, not if he got to leech off of his heat. Eren Shifted and pulled Levi closer to his chest, mumbling about adorable midgets.

Levi frowned, momentarily angry that Eren had called him a midget while dreaming _._ Levi considered aiming a kick at his shin but the thought vanished from his mind as Eren groaned a little, the sound so unprecedented and unexpected that Levi was rendered almost paralytic for a few moments. He pushed back very slightly, having to wriggle away from Eren’s tight grip around his waist.

Levi watched carefully as he watched his fingers glide down Eren’s forearms, momentarily awed by the thickness of muscle that was there. It didn’t look like the kid knew what weights _were._ His attention was brought back to his fingers as he grazed the top of Eren’s collar bone with his finger tips, leaning forward tentatively slow and deliberate. Levi’s lips connected with Eren’s throat and he swore he could feel Eren’s heart beat picking up. He left soft kisses along his neck that soon became soft nibbles. It didn’t take long for his innocent kisses to transition into Levi shifting his weight entirely so he could lean over Eren and suck on the skin connected his neck to his shoulder. Faint bite marks where his teeth had sunk into Eren’s skin briefly. Levi’s palm rested flat against Eren’s solar plexus, his tongue rolling over the rapidly bruising marks on his neck.

It wasn’t long before Eren was roused from his sleep, his eyebrows knitting together tightly before his eyes flutter open. Those stupidly fucking colourful eyes looked back at Levi with slight confusion before Levi starts his sucking on another piece of flesh, eliciting a pleasing groan from Eren. Levi decided again that their positions weren’t nearly pleasing enough for him and removed his leg from where it had been interwoven with Eren’s and swung it over his legs, straddling him while their torsos remained flush against each other. Levi’s hand was still placed against the centre of Eren’s torso and was effectively trapped between the two bodies. Eren begins to chuckle, and it sounds like fucking music to Levi’s ears. Deep and thick and gruff with sleep and fuck, if Levi didn’t think it was utterly enthralling and beautiful. The laughter shook Eren’s chest and Levi shook slightly while he continued to nibbled at Eren’s neck and following it up till he was breathing heavily against Eren’s ear lobe.

“Well, a good morning to you too,” Eren murmured, his voice thick and gruff with something that was certainly a mix of exhaustion and - much to Levi’s joy - arousal. It made Levi grin, the grin began slowly but it completely took over his entire features and revealed pearly whites that were constantly hidden by a scowl. Eren let out a heavy breath, cupping Levi’s face with both of his arms and pulling Levi till they were nose to nose, “God, you’re beautiful.”

“Shut it, Jaegar.” Levi hissed, but his tone held no venom and instead the usual animosity in his tone was filled with such endearment that it had stolen from Eren the breath he had previously let out. Levi leant down to capture Eren’s mouth into a kiss, his tongue tapped Eren’s bottom lip impatiently and Levi’s tongue was met with a reverberating laugh from Eren, whose arms snaked around Levi’s waist and held him there almost protectively.

“Sit.” Levi’s voice was caught in Eren’s mouth and he couldn’t help the breathless hitch in his voice. Eren complied, tightening his grip on Levi as he moved to push his back flat against the wall behind them, his legs laid straight out slightly parted beneath Levi, forcing the shorter man into the space his hips made. Levi didn’t mind, his legs hooked around Eren’s back. Their lips had not parted in the altercation, their kiss becoming hungry and passionate and messy. Lips crashed against lips with no system and so more often than not teeth would clash against teeth, but the moment always dissipated into soft giggles from the pair.

At some point, one of Eren’s hands had lost themselves in Levi’s hair, peeping out every now and then to scratch across the undercut he so vocally adored. The other had slipped up Levi’s shirt and nimble but ultimately fumbly fingers glanced across Levi’s chest, leaving a trail of unwarranted, but absolutely welcomed, fire across his skin. Levi’s hands had similarly found themselves in the same mess. However, although one hand was in fact lost in Eren’s unruly bed-head, the other had found itself palming at Eren’s clothed erection, eliciting painfully pleasurable groans and moans from the man beneath Levi.

Levi pulled away momentarily from Eren’s lips and his palm stopped rolling against Eren and he stared despairingly into Eren’s eyes, giving him this moment, this chance to back out. He hoped his eyes conveyed the question, because Levi wasn’t sure he would be able to croak his question passed his parched lips. When only confusion was returned Levi sighed and unravelled his hand from Eren’s hair to cup his face, his thumb rested against the bottom of Eren’s chin, running soothing circles.

“We don’t have to, uh – you know.” And for the first time in front of Eren, Levi gave an unabashed blush, his cheeks pinking brilliantly. Eren moved to cup Levi’s face too, holding him there and forcing Levi to keep his gaze with Eren.

“No. Not today – just. Not today - but, God fucking dammit Levi don’t you stop what you’re doing with your hand.” Eren’s voice was so strained with arousal that Levi almost missed the slip, almost.

“You just said my name you little shit.” Levi breathed out, his eyes widening. God his name sounded good on Eren’s lips, and with their current predicament Levi couldn’t help imagining Eren under him crying out that name relentlessly. Levi continued his assault against Eren’s dick and kissed all across his face, leaving loving and adoring pecks everywhere he could.

“Levi, Levi, Levi.” Eren answered teasingly, his tongue rolling perfectly over the L and Eren knew just how to get that gruff fucking rich tone that would drive Levi crazy for hours.

“You insufferable dick.” Levi half chuckled against Eren’s face before catching his lips in another desperate and hot kiss. Just as their lips connected, Levi had grasped Eren’s dick through the cloth. Eren emitted a loud moan into Levi’s mouth. Levi played with the head for a moment, while simultaneously curling his tongue around the sounds that Eren was making beneath him. Levi chuckled and his teeth grasped Eren’s tongue, pressing lightly down before removing his lips to kiss along Eren’s face again before finding a particularly appealing patch of skin chest behind Eren’s ear, and the sounds that left the man were an assurance that he found a nice little spot to nibble on and mark his own.

Levi’s hand removed itself from around Eren and a sound of disgruntled disappointment left the man’s mouth before Levi had slipped his hand beneath the waistband of Eren’s boxer shorts and proceeded to wrap his long and thin fingers around Eren’s base, his grip tight but not uncomfortably so. He gave a solitary pump in order to feel Eren out, and when he flung his head back and smacked it against the wall, forcing a loud laughter out of Levi’s mouth and a confused mix of painful and sexually aroused groans leaving Eren’s lips. Levi continued to laugh, allowing his free hand to lift and run through Eren’s hair tentatively. He had paused seeing that Eren had been idiot enough to hurt himself, and hadn’t resumed yet much to Eren’s disappointment.

“God fucking Dammit Levi move your god damned hand.” Levi snickered and moved his hand till he could press the tip of his index finger against Eren’s slit, already with a bead of pre-cum settled. Levi’s ears were greeted with a moan and a thrust of impatience. Levi laughed again.

“Very demanding. I can’t say I disapprove.” Levi murmurs but lowers his head to Eren’s neck again, unsatisfied with the meagre amount of love bites showing up. While Levi’s lips continued their assault on Eren’s neck, his hand had begun a quick paced pumping action. Eren had curled his toes and pushed himself back into the wall in order to be able to thrust his hips up into meeting Levi, dissatisfied with the pace Levi had set himself. Eren’s hands were lost in Levi’s hair, tugging and pulling in order to release some of the tension he was holding.

Levi met Eren’s hips every step of the way, his wrist flicking every now and then, his fingers lingering at Eren’s head before continuing their assault. Eren had given up with sentences and decided that a string of “Fuck, Levi” and “Levi, fuck.” was acceptable for this moment of time. Levi only smirked at the reaction and after a moment removed his lips from Eren’s neck.

He took this moment to re-evaluate his previous assessment.

Eren had been sleeping peacefully not half an hour ago, his face void of worry or horror or anger, and held only tranquillity and if Levi was being honest with himself, even a little bit of adoration. Eren now was squirming beneath him, Levi’s name the only name on Eren’s lips and fuck if it had ever sounded so good. Levi decided then and there that Eren was someone he wanted, someone he needed and he’d be damned if he denied himself of this simple pleasure.

Levi leaned down to Eren’s ear nibbled lightly on the lobe, his grip tightening ever so slightly while he pumped, which gained an extra moan from Eren. Levi moved to whisper hotly into Eren’s ear;

“Cum for me you brat.” And he was leaving feather light kisses across Eren’s hot and sweaty skin before the brat finally came, the fluid mostly contained in Eren’s boxers. Eren had came with Levi’s name coming out strangled and broken and Levi never wanted to hear it any other way. In Eren’s post-euphoric state he lifted his head and caught Levi’s lips in his own, good mornings being repeatedly murmured against Levi’s mouth. Levi let out a laugh and shoved the brat away and off the bed. “Go get yourself cleaned up brat. I should have some boxers that’ll fit you. I’m not going to allow you to lie in my bed drenched in your own semen.” Levi scrunched his nose at the thought, however his comment had received him a laugh and a slightly dopey Eren disappearing into the bathroom, but not before searching Levi’s drawers and grabbing a pair of boxers that looked like they would fit him. Levi rolled his eyes and decided to follow him.

He stood beside Eren and rinsed his hand, covering it in the lavender soap he loved so much. He then proceeded to brush his teeth and grimace, the shift in expression had caught Eren’s attention, who was currently wiping his own fluids from his thigh.

“Can’t believe I let you kiss me before you’d brushed your teeth” Levi scowled and Eren laughed before standing up and pulling the boxers he had grabbed on. Eren stood beside Levi and bumped him with his hip before leaning to kiss the top of his head. Levi feigned anger and stamped on Eren’s foot, the taller male winced and grabbed for his newly sore foot, Levi laughed. When Eren had leaned over, however, Levi could see plain as day the marks left on the skin of his neck and he reached out thoughtlessly to brush his fingers against them. Pride welled in his stomach.

“I’ll be your fucking boyfriend, or your dicking lover or mate or whatever the fuck you want to call it.” Levi huffed, turning back to the sink, having finished and now was spitting out the toothpaste. He rinsed his toothbrush and slid it back into space. He turned to look at Eren, who had been quiet for a few moments, the man was staring at him intently. He seemed to search Levi’s features for any sign of a lie and when he didn’t find one he positively glowed.

“You’ll be my boyfriend?” Eren’s voice had risen an octave and the unbridled excitement and joy filled the space between them. Levi shrugged and frowned, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Just get to bed, Jaegar. I’m still tired.”

“You’re the one that woke me up.” Eren pointed out, his shit eating grin having not left his face.

“Try not to look so fucking good when you sleep then, dickhead.” Levi retorted easily, earning himself a blushing Eren. Levi rolled his eyes and pulled the dishevelled teen to bed and Eren didn’t seem to mind when Levi latched onto him like he had last night. Levi’s legs were locked around Eren and his arms held Eren tightly. Eren pulled the quilt up to their faces and engulfed them in warmth. Eren rested his arm around Levi’s shoulders and held him there, a peaceful smile tugging at his lips as he softly started to be dragged away by sleep again.

“Good morning, asshole.” Levi murmured, briefly wondering about that quote from that book everyone talked about, and it seemed very applicable for this situation. That frightened Levi, in ways that he could never comprehend or voice. The single line was the only thing running through Levi’s mind as he was dragged into the land of sleep along with Eren.

_I fell in love like you fall asleep, slowly at first and then all at once._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've never published any smut I've ever written (And trust me, I haven't written much) so this was odd to write, and I don't know if it feels very disjointed or off. I'm sorry if it does!


	12. Love Bites

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hanji discovers Levi and Eren's dirty little secret.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so horrible at holding back.
> 
> I used to be eight chapters ahead and now I'm only three.  
> Oh golly gosh.
> 
> This is going in unedited (I think so at least. I've had a few glasses of wine, oh gosh.)

Monday had arrived in a flash, Levi had barely any time to reminisce his weekend. Friday had ended very well, and Saturday morning began even better. Eren had left around noon in order to get some marking done and begin some sample essays for his ‘kids’, and Levi had been left all the rest of Saturday and Sunday to reflect on Saturday morning. Not that Levi could linger too long on the memory of Eren squirming beneath him. The pair had conversed thoroughly through text; Eren had told Mikasa and Armin, and the only reply from the pair Eren had received was “So who was it that finally grew a pair?” Eren had been disgruntled by the comment, much to Levi’s amusement.

In fact, Levi was teasing him over text about it now; asking him exactly when he plans to grow a set. He had sent the message before slipping it into his work trousers, Levi supposed that having his phone out in the middle of the school hallway did not come across as very professional – and Levi’d be damned if he was anything but. His contented silence was broken not long after.

“Oh Levi~” Fuck. Levi shot a look behind him and, sure enough, there was that god-forsaken Shitty-glasses. She marched down the hallway, making her way through the lines of students trying to rush to their homeroom. Levi frowned her way and was about to flip her off when he noticed another figure looming just behind hers. He frowned, dropping the hand he’d already raised and folded them tightly over his chest while kids milled into their classes, Levi’s own class already seated and waiting for him to come into the room.

“What the fuck do you want, Hanji.” Levi said, his brow furrowing.

“Levi, you really should be nicer to Hanji.” Eren scolded, moving out from behind Hanji, who squeaked excitedly when she saw him. Eren moved to stand beside Levi.

“Oh, I’ve forgotten what I was go- OH! Oh, no – I have it. You went out with us Friday, didn’t you? Drunk Levi is a good Levi in my books. I don’t even remember you guys being there.” Hanji said, her voice never straying from the excited babble that usually spewed from her mouth. “Oh, Eren, you really must divulge in drunken Levi antics.” To this, Eren’s earlobes turned a shade of pink Levi was sure he’d never actually seen before. A sure sign he was about to lie. Levi quirked an eyebrow, interested in the brats answer.

“I- Uhm, there wasn’t any- well- there weren’t any drunken escapades.” Eren choked out, and Levi supposed it wasn’t really a lie. He hadn’t been drunk in the morning, or at least Levi assumed he wasn’t. Eren turned his gaze to Levi and the tilt of his neck was all that was needed for Hanji to grab onto Eren’s collar, a peak of a bruise already jutting out.

“No drunken escapades?” Hanji quizzes, her tone taking on a new kind of excitement that even worried Levi to an extent. “Which means you got these while Levi was _sober?!”_ Hanji sounded downright fascinated.

Things added to the _‘List of Things Hanji Has Yet to Learn About Levi’: He has a sex life._

“I didn’t even know you had a sex drive!” She turns on Levi and appears to check his neck for any matching hickeys and came away disappointed when she didn’t find any. Eren had gone quiet in his embarrassment, pulling at his collar to hide the love bites, which Levi disliked – as childish as it was, he kind of enjoyed the idea of Eren having them on display.

“Are you done?” Levi scowled, his arms unfolding and his hands rested on his hips “Because unlike you, me and Eren have some actual teaching to do.” Eren gave a soft chuckle and even dared to flick Levi’s shoulder as another scolding for being mean to Hanji. Levi flipped him off. “Go teach, Jaegar. We’ll get enough shit-for-brains and Captain asshole at dinner tonight -” Levi couldn’t finish his sentence because a pair of lips had covered his own for the briefest of moments. Eren pulled back grinning at Levi’s scowl and stalked off towards the set of stairs that would take him to his own classroom.

“Grew a set.” He called excitedly over his shoulder, and his laughter dissipated down the hallway. Levi frowned, a blush trickling its way along his cheeks, much to Hanji’s amusement. He really did flip her off this time and turned swiftly into his classroom before Hanji could say anything else. His door slammed behind him and his class jumped simultaneously.

~~~

Once the day was over, with Levi scolding Eren for kissing him in front of Hanji and Eren laughing some more as he continued to trace the line his undercut met his hair. The kid was impossible. Eren and Levi had decided to meet up just before going into the restaurant for their dinner, Levi wearing the scarf that Eren had given him a while ago, he wore it often and the smell of peppermint was quickly fading – much to Levi’s disappointment.

The cold had sunken into the bone by now, and all Levi wanted was to be back in his apartment curled up in his bed under his quilt. He didn’t think he’d even mind if a certain stupid brat was there with him. They stepped into the restaurant, happy for the warmth that flooded their bodies and for the smell of food hat filled their nostrils. Levi even allowed a smile, mostly because it was hidden behind the scarf. The pair found Hanji and Erwin easily and sat at their booth, both peeling off their winter clothes to sit more comfortably.

“So Erwin, did you see Eren’s neck today?” Hanji couldn’t have fucking waited till they had some warm food in their stomachs to start this shit. Levi sighed deeply, the furrow between his brow came back. Erwin, oblivious to the earlier encounter at the school now turned his attention to Eren, whose face could not have been redder. Unfortunately, the red of his cheeks did not do anything to hide the bruises on complete show now that he was only in a t-shirt.

“You told me you couldn’t see them in this shirt!” Eren exclaimed to Levi, covering his face in his hands. Levi shook his head, trying to disguise the laughter erupting from him in coughs.

“You took my word for it? Why didn’t you look in the mirror like a normal person, you stupid brat.” Eren looked like he was about to bite but his embarrassment kept him back. It was Erwin’s turn to talk now.

“When was this?” His eyes showed amusement and it dripped in his tone as well. Levi rolled his eyes and Eren kicked him beneath the table.

“Depends, do you mean the hickeys, or do you mean that the brat wants me to call him my ‘Boyfriend’.” Levi asked, his tone level and as uninterested as ever, yet he really wanted to laugh, the most he could do was give a smirk which earned him another kick under the table from Eren.

“Both were Saturday morning.” Levi answered for Erwin, and he was sure amusement lit up in his own eyes because Eren groaned beside him and threw his head back, and only when the thought occurred to Eren that this gave the group a better view of the bruises, did he let his head fall forward onto the table.

“Fuck you Levi.”

“Not yet, Eren” he retorted easily, and it earned a snort of laughter from both Hanji and Erwin. The pair of them offered their congratulations, to which Levi and Eren both gratefully took.


	13. Field Trips and Shopping Trips

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren goes on a field trip and is a massive nerd, not surprisingly. Hanji decides she wants to take Eren on a shopping spree and hell if Levi was going to stop her, but he'd be damned id he went along.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I FINALLY DECIDED ON A PLOT 
> 
> I'VE CURRENTLY WRITTEN FIFTEEN CHAPTERS AND I FINALLY DECIDED.
> 
> WOOPS
> 
> This is why I should never be entrusted to write things. I'm sorry.
> 
> Please, feel free to follow my Tumblr: itsaroosterteeththing.tumblr.com and if you want to mention this fic or whatever (not that you would, oh gosh) just put it under my blog tag: itsaroosterteeththing since taylor swift currently takes over the 'Fic: Come in With the Rain' tag, unsurprisingly.)
> 
> WELL HERE YOU GO MY LOVELIES. I'd try and convince you that I wont upload again until next week, but I'd be only kidding myself.
> 
> Enjoy!

It was surprising how nerdy Eren actually was. When he wasn’t trying to beat the shit out of Jean and when he didn’t have that fiery determination in his eyes – which Levi discovered was not often - it was clear how impossibly and irrevocably in love with history he was. It was never more evident than now.

It was lunch and he was currently sitting with Erwin and Hanji, much to his displeasure. The lunch was interrupted quite frequently, however, by his phone buzzing on the table. Levi thought he might throw it against the wall, not that the messages themselves were annoying, just the constant vibrations that Levi’s pride forbade him to admit he didn’t know how to turn off.

“Levi, are you listening?” Erwin asks from across the table, waving a hand in front of Levi’s face. Levi hadn’t realised he’d been glaring at his phone for the past five minutes, ignoring any and all discussion directed towards or regarding himself.

“Fine. Fine.” Levi waves him off, shaking his head. “Fuckface has a field trip to some shitty castle ruins where some shitty battle happened and he won’t stop sending me pictures and talking about it.” Levi rolls his eyes and attempts to remove the oncoming headache by rubbing at his temples; he doesn’t know why he continually attempts to alleviate his pain this way as it never seemed to work.

“He’s very excitable.” Erwin comments, his smile warm and comfortable. Levi frowns. He had never met a singular person so contrasting to Levi’s foul mouthed, angry (and short) self. Erwin probably shit out sunshine and hearts. Levi rolled his eyes and continued eating his lunch, flicking through some of the photos Eren had been sending him. Most were photos of himself and the actual historical artefact, or place, in the background. Levi, resigned to the knowledge, nodded.

“Very excitable. He’s such a dog.” Levi’s harsh tone betrayed only the smallest amount of affection, not that it didn’t go unnoticed by Erwin, or Hanji for that matter who had been so engrossed in her food that she hadn’t thought to look up or listen. “One of his kids are going to go missing, and his only excuse will be that he was texting me” Levi mumbles, texting him that exact thing before looking to his other conversation. Mikasa had nabbed his number from Eren and had been texting him quite frequently about Eren’s wellbeing, although Mikasa trusted Levi, it was clear she couldn’t trust Eren not to kill himself. Levi couldn’t blame her – Levi couldn’t trust him either.

“Eren’s on a field trip?” Hanji sighs, pushing away the remnants of her lunch, pulling Levi from his assurances to Mikasa that Eren wouldn’t kill himself while he was away...probably.

“Yes, what part of ‘Fuckface has a field trip’ did you not understand?” Levi shoots a middle finger her way in the most professional way he could muster.

“Eren’s right, you should be nicer to me.” Hanji holds a hand over her heart and feigns a dejected expression, to which Levi only rolls his eyes and resists the urge to flip her off again.

“You’re only nice with Eren around” Hanji pouts, whining.

“Bullshit, I’m probably worse to you with that shithead around” Levi growls, turning his attention back to his food. He hadn’t received another message from Eren and he supposed the brat got busy. Levi slips his phone into his pocket and finishes off his lunch.

There is a moment of a peaceful silence that Levi is grateful for, there are too little of these and when the moment is broken – can you guess by whom? I bet you can – he frowns deeply at the owner of the voice.

“Have you noticed how awfully Eren dresses?” Hanji comments idly, her tone oddly suspicious. Levi can only groan.

“What do you want, Hanji?” Levi runs a hand through his hair, a habit he’d picked up from Eren, the little shit.

“Shopping spree!” She announces, throwing her arms into the air and laughing maniacally. Levi went back to trying to erase his headache by rubbing his temples. Dammit.

“Dammit, if you’re going to take the kid out, take Erwin with you. At least the fucking Dorito chip has a taste in clothes.” Levi scowls, but Hanji must have heard only a ‘yes’ in Levi’s warning. Dragging his phone from his pocket, Levi sent a quick text to Eren, becoming more and more amused with the situation the more he thought about it. Not only did it mean that the little shit got actual clothing, but it meant that Erwin and Hanji were out of his hair.

_[Text to][Jaegar]: You’re fucked._

Levi chuckled to himself, cut off only by the bell ringing signalling fifth period. Levi stands, disposing of his lunch accordingly.

“Take him out tonight, text him or something.” Levi calls over his shoulder as he leaves. Perhaps they could even go on a date with his new clothes. “Focus on the whole shebang; he’s fucking hopeless with clothes. Get him something smart as well; we’re going on a date tomorrow.” Again, over his shoulder he throws a wave and leaves Hanji and Erwin to sort their own stuff.

Faintly Levi could hear Hanji squealing with delight and shouting nonsense at Erwin. Thank God he didn’t have to deal with that tonight. Levi almost felt bad for Eren. Almost.

~~~

By the end of the night, Levi had already curled in his bed, which he decided had gotten curiously larger with the absence of a certain brat who stayed over often. He didn’t much like the superfluous amount of space he had, but it didn’t seem to matter when Eren stumbled into the apartment – having been dating for a solid month now, Levi was sure he could trust the brat with a key. He heard him open the door and stumble towards Levi’s bedroom, practically falling onto the floor when he managed to open it. Levi laughed.

“You have fun?” He crows from where he now sat, watching Eren as he huffed and puffed.

“Screw you.” Eren murmured, but allowed a laugh to fall past him. Levi chuckles again as he crawls out of bed in an attempt to help the brat, fuck sake.

“You want help, kid? You look like you’re about to die” Levi’s tone was filled with amusement. He leaned down and picked up one of the many bags his idiot boyfriend had dragged in. “What did you get? Can I look?” Levi’s interest was piqued when Eren made a grab for the bag.

“NO! No, Hanji gave me strict orders to not show you anything, and I’ll be damned if I have to feel her wrath” Eren placed the bags in the corner, keeping them as neat as possible. He did, however, pull a pair of pyjama bottoms from one of the bags and tore the tags off it before stripping and pulling them on, ruffling through the bag in order to find the matching shirt to go with it. Levi supposed those were the only clothes he was allowed to see at that moment, which was completely absurd. He would see everything anyway.

“You look exhausted” Levi noted, crawling back into bed and pulling over the corner of the quilt from Eren’s side, letting him slide in.

“Yeah. The field trip today was amazing, but running after the kids all day was tiresome and then going shopping with Hanji and Erwin was hell” He breathed heavily, wrapping his arms around Levi’s waist and intertwining their legs together, his nose buried into Levi’s neck. At this Eren gave a deep sigh, as if he’d been waiting all day to release that breath. Levi chuckles and indulges Eren, kissing him on the cheek.

“Yeah, that’s why I didn’t go, dumbass.” Levi laughed, his own arms wrapping around Eren’s shoulders and suddenly his bed didn’t seem too big, or too anything really.

“Erwin is such a perfectionist; I was only allowed to buy myself one hoodie.” He whines, nuzzling further into Levi’s neck.

“Good, did they get you something good for tomorrow?” Levi asked absent-mindedly.

“Tomorrow? Is that when our date is?” Eren mumbled, sleep already starting to pull him under.

“Mmmhm” Levi answered, feeling the comfortable and familiar weight of sleep.

“Pretty sure that tailor groped my ass.” Eren mumbles after a moment of blissful silence. “I’ve never spent so much on clothes before.”

“What a douche. Did’ya like it?” Levi’s voice was becoming more and more gruff with exhaustion and the heavy feeling of sleep pushing against him.

“Nah, didn’t have an undercut or a permanently pissed off expression. Didn’t tell shit jokes either. Not my type.” Eren’s own voice matched Levi’s, and they fell asleep with each other’s tired laughter in their minds.


	14. Date Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi takes Eren on a date.

Date night was Friday night, and when Levi awoke he had decided to call Armin ask him to tell Mikasa that he and Eren couldn’t make it for dinner that night. The man busied himself in the kitchen in the morning, making himself some toast for breakfast, he would have made extra for Eren, but Levi suspected the man would not rise before he simply had to. The man hadn’t pulled himself from bed yet, unsurprisingly. Levi, fully dressed in his black suit pants, light grey shirt and black tie tied perfectly, had pressed his phone to his ear. Holding it with his shoulder as he made coffee, Levi would undoubtedly have more coffee at school, but Levi had to have some decent coffee before drinking the tar the school served up.

“Hello?” Armin’s voice rang high and clear in Levi’s ear. He poured his cup and added his essentials while attempting not to drop his phone.

“Hey, Armin.” Levi started, raising the cup to his lips and taking a testing sip before setting it down to cool. He turned his attention to his bedroom where he heard no signs of life coming from it. He frowned and made his way to the door.

“Oh, Levi!” Armin’s tone perked and Levi had to roll his eyes, the smile was evident in his tone. That kid never stopped smiling, it was kind of haunting actually – the kid seemed so innocent and pure, but Levi was sure there was a psychopath just waiting to free itself. Levi mulled this thought over before opening his door and – no surprise – found Eren still face down in the pillow.

“Hey, could you tell Mikasa that Eren and I can’t make it to dinner tonight?” Levi steps into the room and over to Eren’s side of the bed, Levi raises his foot and presses it against Eren’s waist, shaking him.

“Dumbass, wake up. You’ll be late for work.” Levi growls, pushing harder with his foot till he heard Eren groan his reply, which came in two parts; the second was a middle finger. Armin squeaked at the other end of the line and Levi had to suppress laughter.

“I – uh, absolutely. Is something wrong?” Armin asked, concern filling his tone and Levi rolled his eyes, pushing Eren again until the man was forced to roll off the bed. Levi was sure the clatter could be heard by Armin. Levi did laugh now, amused by a sprawled out Eren on the ground.

“Eren just fell out of bed, don’t worry; I’m not beating him. Nothing’s wrong, we’re having a date tonight is all, thought I’d let you and Mikasa know since Eren wouldn’t, the damn brat.” Eren flipped him off again, finally standing and making his way over to Levi. Eren’s bed head was legendary, and made Levi reconsider his assessment that the brat merely left it as it was when he left the bed every day. Eren gave a wide grin and leant to give Levi a peck, Levi allowed the action, but swatted the back of the man’s head telling him to get ready.

“Oh, phew,” Armin’s relief was evident as he was assured that Levi was not beating his friend. Levi heard nervous laughter on the other end of the line before he continued “I’ll tell her, don’t worry. Thanks for the call, Levi” Armin’s grin, again, was obvious in his tone and Levi smiled, nodding to himself.

“Not a problem, kid. See you next week. Bye.” Levi waited long enough for Armin’s reply and then ended the call, turning back to look to Eren who had dressed in some of the fine clothes he had bought yesterday.

It was clear that this was not the tailored clothes he had mentioned to Levi the night before but the clothes fit him splendidly nonetheless. His shirt was a cerulean blue that tucked itself neatly into his black suit trousers, which rested neatly on his hips. Eren was wearing a black tie that matched Levi’s, but was squint and incorrectly tied. As much as Levi wanted to step back and really admire the view of the man in front of him – or tear the clothes off one by one – he couldn’t get passed how squint the tie actually was. Levi sighed and stepped forward.

“You’re such an idiot. The guy upstairs gave you all the looks and none of the brains.” Levi’s snide remark earned a huff from Eren, who refused to meet Levi’s eyes no matter how long Levi stared him down. In the end Levi rolled his eyes and fixed his tie, tying it correctly and grabbing one of his tie clips from his little collection, he pinned it to Eren’s shirt. Levi stepped back and admired his handiwork, and his boyfriend.

“Perfect.” He murmured, his gaze travelling up and down the man. His smirk was small but the smile in his gaze was much larger.

“Shut up.” Eren huffed, his cheeks going an amusingly bright shade of pink. Levi decided to push his luck and pull Eren down for a kiss, to which Eren returned happily.

“That colour looks good on you, Eren.” Levi noted, speaking about both the shirt and his blush. Turning to fix the bed after Eren’s mishap and only now did Levi wonder if his coffee would have gone cold. Deciding that it would have, he frowned deeply.

“Grey looks good on you.” Eren returned. Levi chuckles and shakes his head, leaving the room to empty and clean the coffee cup – which had indeed gone cold – before grabbing his necessities for the day and hurrying Eren along.

“Come on shit-for-brains, we have work to get to.”

~~~

Work had been uneventful, and with the anticipation of the date that night Levi couldn’t help but feel as if the day had been a drag. Even Jean and Eren’s daily argument at lunch couldn’t speed the day along, the pair had resolved their arguments topic and for the last half hour of lunch actually enjoyed the company of one another. Levi always found their relationship odd, they were so incredibly hot headed that they rarely didn’t clash on a subject but the pair had moments of obvious respect and friendship for each other. Perhaps it was rather similar to his and Hanji’s relationship, he wanted to kill her most of the time but at the same time Levi appreciated her and she seemed to enjoy Levi’s presence.

Levi’s classes seemed to be progressing in their understanding of the texts he had set up for them, and was much more pleased with their effort. His juniors were coming to the turning point of The Great Gatsby and his seniors had discussed the importance of the scene with the two girls and Danny from The Shining. There were few kids that seemed to remain confused over certain areas of the texts that they had studied and as much as Levi would deny the fact if you entertained it in front of him, he would fight tooth and nail to make sure there was no lingering confusion for his kids. Damn, Levi was calling them his kids now too, damn that tropical fuck.

The day _did_ end however, and Eren had left the school the first half of lunch in order to move his new clothes to his own apartment which Levi dropped him off at after school. The drive back to his own apartment was quiet and it was more than a little disconcerting that Levi found that a disheartening fact. The brat had made him soft, for fuck sake.

Upon entering his apartment he checked the time, it was only four but their reservations were at six thirty and Levi had a lot to do before then. He cleaned his apartment and made sure it was spotless before he himself took a shower. On his way to the bathroom, Levi sent Eren a quick message, reiterating their plans for that night.

_[Text to][Eren]: I’ll pick you up at 6:15 and dress smart, kid._

Levi closed the bathroom door behind him and undressed. He took his time in the shower, not that Levi was ever anything but diligent with his hygiene. When he stepped out of the steaming room, a towel wrapped securely around his waist, he stepped up to his closet. He had a multitude of suits that he wore for school alone, his more _casual_ suits, and much fewer suits that Levi would deem as date worthy. Probably because Levi didn’t go on many dates, and though he and Eren had been dating for a month now their dates mainly consisted of Eren falling asleep on Levi during a movie or them having sex until they both pass out from sheer exhaustion. Not that Levi complained, he happened to enjoy Eren falling asleep on him and happened to enjoy having sex with the man more. It was merely that Levi, as much of a cliché as it would seem, also liked to go on actual dates, in actual restaurants.

Levi lifted his suit from the closet and set it neatly on his bed. Simple black suit trousers with the matching waistcoat and crisp white shirt rested without a crease. Levi left the clothes there and dried himself, draping the towel around his neck when he was done. Levi pulled on his boxers and tugged the slim fit black trousers till they were resting nicely against his hips. Before placing the shirt on Levi removed the towel and placed it into the hamper in the corner of his bedroom. Levi tucked the shirt into his trousers and fastened it with a black leather belt, Levi also tied a black tie around his neck and as the man watched himself in the mirror he couldn’t help but notice how the bags under his eyes had began to recede. Levi almost looked like a fully functioning human being. After pulling on his socks and his shiny black shoes, Levi’s waistcoat was the last thing he had to put on before he was dressed for the occasion.

As horribly cheesy Levi felt looking into the mirror once he was ready – having rolled and unrolled his sleeves so many times they had formed wrinkles and he had to keep them rolled in order to hide it – he was incredibly indecisive about what was missing about his appearance that evening. He hummed and hawed at himself in the mirror and for a moment he felt anger bubbling in him for caring about something so artificial and unnecessary. Yet the urge to please Eren seemed to have taken precedence. He glances at the clock and notes that he needs to pick Eren up in fifteen minutes, he should be leaving soon.

In a last ditch effort to do something Levi routed his cabinets for some hair gel he kept for special occasions ( _Note: Whenever Hanji forced him to look nice for a meeting)_ and slicked his hair back in order to reveal his undercut. Levi, again, worried over himself in the mirror and frowned when he caught himself worrying too much again. He decided to ignore his reflection and grab his keys before leaving the apartment, his wallet secure in his trousers alongside his phone.

The drive to Eren’s was suffocating. Levi glanced and glanced again in the mirrors, scowling when he realised he was acting like a teenage boy picking up his first partner on their first date. Again, Levi elected to ignore the reflection, however soon his nerves turned into chewing the inside of his cheeks.

Levi pulled up alongside Eren’s house – the home he had lived in with Mikasa – and knocked the door, impatient for Eren to greet him. When the door opened he had been expecting his unbelievably tall and lean boyfriend, looking scruffy and more like a puppy whose master has just returned after a long day at work. Instead he was met with dark eyes and dark hair; Mikasa.

“Hello, Mikasa.” Levi cleared his throat, hands shoved into his trouser pockets in an effort to not pick or pull at his clothing.

“Levi” Mikasa returned, her voice as uninterested as his own yet still managing to hold a menacing tone.

“Are you playing the role of the protective father?” Levi quipped, a small smirk tugging at the side of his mouth, his eyes alight with amusement. The thought had Levi mulling over a thought not previously present in his mind, but he pushed it aside in favour of thinking about the date.

“Back by eleven” She gave her own small smile and Levi nodded, his smirk turning to a small genuine and appreciative smile.

“Don’t worry, my intentions are purely innocent.” Levi says slyly, his tone holding just the right amount of teasing to be considered playful. Mikasa gave a small laugh that sounded more like a huff and called for Eren to hurry. At the return of his voice telling Mikasa to not get her scarf in a twist, Levi couldn’t help the tiny laugh that escaped him.

When Eren did manage to make it down the hallway to the door, Levi was sure he’d never seen Eren look so...

So much like an adult.

The suit clung to him in all of the right areas and rested neatly against shiny black shoes that were most definitely not scuffed. The trousers hung perfectly on his hips, a deep purple shirt tied with a neat bowtie. Levi couldn’t help his gaze lingering a little bit, and felt a little self conscious when he noticed Eren’s own gaze travelling up and down his body. Which was stupid, Levi knew he looked fine. He had looked at himself in the mirror that night often enough.

“Mikasa do your bow-tie?” Levi asked, unable to keep the teasing tone from his voice. Eren rolled his eyes and blushed, his hand running through his usual mussed hair.

“Armin, actually.” Levi had to laugh, reaching to fix Eren’s already pristine collar. His smile softened as he took Eren’s hand, their fingers lacing and Levi giving a tight squeeze.

“You look exquisite.” Levi offered offhandedly, the compliment tumbled so thoughtlessly out of Levi’s mouth that he seemed shocked by his own utterance. Eren blushed and laughed, bending to give Levi a quick chaste kiss, his free hand coming up to let his fingers dance and glide over Levi’s exposed undercut.

“I like what you’ve done with your hair. You should keep it like this all the time.” Levi rolled his eyes, tugging him from the house. Eren removed his hand quick enough to shut the door and be dragged along by his boyfriend.

The ride to the restaurant had been simple, and easy, and humorous, and did Levi mention easy? He had never expected being with Eren to be easy, but so far there had been no turbulence. Nothing but understanding and, hell, Levi will admit it; adoration.

“So, this is what I wasn’t allowed to see?” Levi asked, glancing from the road to Eren. He released a hand from the wheel to gesture at his clothing. Eren nodded, smiling.

“Yeah, Hanji said if I showed you, it’d ruin the surprise.”

“That’s true, Four-Eyes isn’t all that slow.” Levi commented, laughing a little. “They’re good though. That shade of purple and the blue one you got...” Levi pauses, smirking as he throws a cheeky glance Eren’s way. “They’re very distracting.” Eren beamed red and laughed.

“Shut up, Heichou.” He said it behind a hand and Levi couldn’t help the easy laughter that fell from his mouth.

The restaurant had been magnificent. Their food was brilliantly cooked and left next to no room for dessert – for Levi at least, Eren had had the chocolate gateaux. They served up champagne that fizzled on their tongues. Because Levi was the designated driver he only had one glass, Eren however drank the glasses as if they were water. The amount of alcohol Eren had consumed by the end of the night made for an interesting trip home. Levi couldn’t help the snickering from the driver’s seat, to which Eren demanded an answer. His ‘demanding’ had been slurred and hiccupped and completely destroyed by his bout of giggles, Levi could only snicker more.

The pair finally made it up the stairs, with Eren trying to waltz with Levi all the way up the stairs. Once in the apartment, Levi indulged Eren in some actual waltzing having decided that drunk Eren would at least appreciate learning the steps to a waltz.

Once the pair had undressed and tumbled into bed, Levi curled into Eren’s warmth as he always did and allowed a drunk Eren to play with his hair. Undoubtedly the man was wondering why the room was spinning, or why his head felt really heavy and his tongue still fizzed. Eren continued to giggle for a while before poking Levi’s head.

“Hey, Levi?” Eren mumbled into Levi’s cheek, where his face was currently squashed against.

“Yes, Eren?” Levi answered, exhaustion clouding his curious tone.

“Thank you for the best date I’ve ever had.” Eren snuggled closer and soon light snores were leaving him. Levi rolled his eyes and sighed.

“No problem. Thanks for giving me the most interesting month of my life.” Levi whispered, closing his eyes and waited for sleep to take him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a super busy weekend that was exhausting and yet incredibly fulfilling so have a chapter! If I finish the chapter I'm currently writing tonight (Chapter 16 - hint: Pre-Christmas celebrations) then I will upload chapter 15 tonight also.
> 
> I love you guys so bloody much, please don't be afraid to leave a comment or come to my tumblr and leave a message because I wanna snuggle you all.


	15. Parlez-Vous Français?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first snowfall appears and Eren seems to enjoy it. Eren also finds out that Levi can speak French.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING.  
> PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE TELL ME IF I GOT ANY OF THE FRENCH WRONG.  
> (Particularly the sentences, I took French for seven years and I feel like I should know more than I do, and even then I still get it wrong.)
> 
> If I have anything wrong I will absolutely change it (and would - in the least creepy way possible - love to have a few conversations about French since I'm taking it again, would really love to slip back into the language.)

December was upon them faster than they ever thought possible. The cold only seemed to worsen and snow fell routinely. Levi had been sitting with Eren in his spot by the lake in the park when the first bout of snowfall befell them. Eren had jumped excitedly from the bench when he saw the first fat snowflake. The snow had started slowly but just as the first snowflakes dusted the ground, the snow fell heavy and fast. Levi stood too, watching Eren. It had been late, they had been out for dinner with Mikasa and Armin and decided to linger in town and somehow they ended up by the lake. The night was dark and all that illuminated Eren and Levi was the streetlamps littering the park and surrounding streets, lighting the snow and surrounding area in a warm orange glow.

Excited squeals can be heard all around them. Excited college students and children out past their bedtime bounded into the streets. There weren’t many, Levi could count the number of people that entered the snowfall on both hands, but the excited chatter was enough to get even Levi feeling the cold warmth of human excitement. The snow began to fall heavier and soon it was becoming hard to see anything at all. Eren was currently spinning in the snow, his feet throwing up snow as he turned. Levi couldn’t help the laugh that tumbled so easily from his mouth, and he was sure he wouldn’t have wanted to stop it if he’d known it was coming.

Soon the excited chatter ebbed and people dispersed back into their homes, everyone except Eren and Levi. The pair still stood, watching the snow. In the silence Levi could hear the snow hitting the ground, and the soft sound of snowflakes made him smile into his scarf. Eren’s face had gone red, and so had Levi’s, Levi’s was far more noticeable on his pale skin.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much colour in your cheeks, Levi.” Eren had commented off-handedly, having pulled his attention from the snow for a moment. Levi flipped him off but stepped forward to meet Eren so that their shoes were touching. Eren only beamed down to his boyfriend, capturing his face between his mitten-clad hands and bending to kiss him. His lips were cold, and Levi’s were warm from their time beneath the scarf and Levi could still taste peppermint in Eren’s mouth, the cold only made him taste that much more delicious. Eren pulled away, but kept Levi’s face in his hands.

“You’re very into your clichés aren’t you, Eren?” Levi teased, turning his cheek into Eren’s hand.

If Levi was being honest with himself the snow was very beautiful, and the way it caught into Eren’s unruly hair and landed on his eyelashes just made the man even more childlike. His boyish charm was untainted and Levi couldn’t say that he didn’t enjoy the youthful excitement and cheer he brought to everything the man did. Eren let his hands drop to his sides.

“Says you who mumbles romantic quotes before you sleep.” Levi’s head shot up and if Levi had been a couple inches taller he would have head-butted Eren’s chin.

“You bastard.” Levi accuses, his cheeks flaring with more than just the cold now. He frowned and stamped on Eren’s foot, the man was unperturbed much to Levi’s annoyance. He folded his arms and tried to cover embarrassment with anger.

“I’m all for clichés.” Eren smiled, unabashed. Levi flipped him off.

~~~

Levi caught Eren whom had been on his way to Levi’s classroom to watch him teach.

“I have a cover class today, Jaegar.” Levi stopped him, ushering him to follow.

“Cover? Which class are you covering?” Eren’s interest piqued and he followed closely, soon falling into step beside Levi which wasn’t all that hard to do.

“French. Damn teacher’s off sick or some shit.” Levi frowned, leading himself and Eren down the languages corridor and checking the sheet in his hand for the door number before confirming his thoughts and stepping into the correct classroom. The high school wasn’t all that big so there were students he knew in this classroom, some he didn’t but he did happen to notice the girl Eren had asked to blow a kiss to Levi was in this class. Levi glanced back to Eren who seemed apprehensive at first to enter the classroom. Levi couldn’t say he missed the glance the girl shot between them, or the knowing smile as she turned to her friend and nodded. Damn kids.

“Jaegar, take a seat up the back or something, jeez, you’re collecting dust.” He rolled his eyes and almost snickered when Eren appeared to be fighting back an inappropriate response and a blush.

“Okay, class, looks like your teacher ditched you today so you have me instead. Lucky you.” Levi dropped his stuff onto the desk and arranged it quickly and neatly. He could hear Eren’s snort in the back of the class and Levi hid a smirk before he turned to the class.

“Oh, Jaegar. Perfect.” He folded his arms and dropped his hip, keeping his gaze unwavering and his face indifferent. He gestured for Eren to come up to the front of the class by curling a finger. Eren gulped suddenly but made his way to the front of the class.

“Yes, sir?” Eren seemed to have to force the last bit out, which made Levi want to laugh again.

“Do you know any French? _Parlez-vous français?”_ Eren’s eyebrows shot up so high Levi thought they would disappear in his hairline. The smirk that befell his lips could not be helped. “ _"Non? Tu ne parles pas français ?"_ Levi turned to the class and gestured towards Eren. “He shall be our guinea pig today, don’t you think class?” He was met with severe nods and he smiled back to Eren. Levi probably should have gone with the more formal way to say ‘ _you do not know French?’_ but guessed the class really wouldn’t know the difference.

“I don’t know how your usual teacher teaches French, but I was born and raised in France until I was a teenager. Learning English was no easy task” He turned to the class now and was glad to see them listening intently, ignoring Eren’s curious glances. Levi hadn’t told Eren of his childhood yet. It had been a touchy subject, and still kind of was.

The class urged him to continue and Levi nodded, unfolding his arms.

“The easiest way to learn about a language is to forget about your old one.” Levi says, turning to the board and writing a single word: _Dormir_ or _to sleep,_ simple enough to learn. He turned to the class and asked them a question:

“What do you think when you see _Dormir?”_ He paused for a minute and allowed the students to call out the same thing he had been expecting: _to sleep_ in English. Levi shook his head.

“No. You should think of someone sleeping, not of the words ‘to sleep’” He caught Eren’s eye and gestured for him to sit in the teacher’s chair. “If you’re holding onto the English, that’s what you’ll learn. You need to learn the French.” He turned back to the board and rubbed off _Dormir._ “When I was learning English and had to remember simple animal names like _chien_ for _dog_ it was much simpler picturing a dog in your head every time you said it.” He looks over his shoulder to the students to see if they were taking it in. He wrote another word, this time he wrote the words _Les bois._

 _“_ what do you think of now?” Turning back to the class he folds his arms.

“A forest, one full of big trees.” A student calls out. Levi nods, a touch of a smile on his lips.

“Right, a forest full of big ass trees.” The class snickers and Levi rubs off the word from the board and continues his lesson in this way. Levi is overjoyed to see the students apparently taking in his methods and even more joyful when he notices that Eren is taking notes.

When Levi had noticed that Eren was trifling through drawers and cabinets to find some spare paper, he hadn’t thought much of it, but when he noticed him taking actual vocabulary notes he had to pause and clear his throat, trying to disguise his embarrassment.

When he looked up the same knowing smile was on the girl.

That night, when the pair were getting ready for bed and Eren was beginning to cosy himself in Levi’s bed Eren sat up and looked over to Levi who was removing his work clothes in favour of only wearing his boxers to bed.

“I didn’t know you could speak fluent French.” He commented, watching Levi curiously as the shorter man padded his way to bed, shoving Eren from his side and scooting up to his side.

“Yeah. Born and bred.” Levi answered throwing an arm over Eren’s waist. “I don’t like talking about that time of my life, my childhood wasn’t a happy one.”

“You can say that again.” Eren mumbled, his gaze moving from Levi’s face to stare at the ceiling, making patterns out of nothing. “I can speak fluent German.” Eren offered, shifting them slightly so Eren could wrap an arm around Levi’s shoulders. “Spent my childhood there, not long but long enough to carry the German with me till now.” Levi nodded and the room fell silent, questions that wanted to be asked and answers that wanted to be given. When the silence continued Levi sighed a little and looked up to Eren.

“You don’t talk much about your childhood.” His fingers started drawing idle spirals into Eren’s hip and the taller man nodded, still refusing to look at Levi.

“Neither do you.” He countered but as soon as he’d said it he’d sighed. “My father left while I was young, around eight. My mother...she couldn’t handle it, she didn’t know what to do with father gone and soon...” Eren paused, wiping roughly at his eyes with his free hand. Levi hated crying, he never knew what to do. Usually he would leave them to finish but Levi couldn’t leave Eren, not like this. His hold tightened and he placed a kiss against Eren’s ribs. Eren’s own grip tightened slightly.

Eren had stopped to take a deep breath. “She killed herself, leaving myself and Mikasa to look out for each other. Armin helped too, and after his grandfather died we all relied on each other to get through.” Eren glances down to Levi, who was staring off at the wall behind them.

“When we were old enough we started to work, and after a couple years we had been able to gather the amount of money necessary to move here. We had some support from my father’s old friend Hannes, he took us in till we could get sorted out ourselves. It allowed me to continue studies and I was lucky enough to grab a scholarship.” He glanced back up to the ceiling. Working age in Germany was thirteen and Eren moved to the United States with Mikasa and Armin when they were fifteen.

“Hannes knew someone who could give us jobs in some stores and by the time we were eighteen, collectively, we had the money to get a small house. Which we did.” Eren shrugged and lifted a hand to play with Levi’s hair. Levi frowned, this man had gone through so much and yet he still smiled like the world had done him no wrong.

“I don’t know my parents.” Levi started, watching his fingers now as they glanced Eren’s skin. “I was raised by a man named Kaney and he...wasn’t the best guardian. He beat me mercilessly and by the time I was nine I knew how to wield a butchers knife as a weapon more than I knew how to hold a fork.” His fingers caressed Eren’s stomach and Levi was happy his fingers were acting as a distraction.

“I became a thug, though never did I let go of my studies. As soon as I was old enough I left Kaney and focused my mind on becoming a teacher.” He glanced up at Eren, who was watching him with every ounce of adoration that Levi felt. “I started out as a kindergarten teacher because I didn’t want any child to suffer the way I did, I thought it was regular for children to be beaten. I don’t know why I switched to high school, maybe when I realised that now, now was the time to teach them just what they could do with their lives.” When Levi fell silent Eren kissed the top of Levi’s head like he was the most precious thing he owned.

“Thank you for telling me, Levi.” Eren mumbled against his head and Levi could only nod.

“You too, brat. Now go to sleep, we have work tomorrow.” Levi was exhausted after their sharing time and needed only now to curl into Eren and leech his heat as he fell asleep and guessed that Eren wanted to do the same. They fell into a peaceful yet thoughtful sleep.


	16. A Pair of Drunken Trios

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi, Erwin and Hanji decide to get shitfaced for their traditional night of drinking. Eren, Mikasa and Armin indulge themselves in similar activities.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I probably shouldn't be updating this quickly, but oh well. I'm such a shit person for holding chapters back, whoops!

 “So, how much do we have to drink?” A voice came from the kitchen, the owner currently rummaging through Levi’s cabinets in search of snack foods. Her efforts were all in vain, however, because all of his snacking foods were sitting on the coffee table along with Hanji and Erwin’s own peace offerings.

“I don’t know. You shit bags brought four bottles of wine between you, I have a bottle of wine and Shitty-glasses, you brought champagne too.” Levi crossed his arms, his tone sharp.

“This is tradition Levi! Everyone spends time with family on Christmas Eve, so Christmas Eve’s Eve is the best time for us to get together!” Hanji feigned dejection, holding her hand – currently clutching a sparkling clear wine glass – over her heart as if it had been broken. “Christmas 23rd is ‘Let’s-See-How-Drunk-We-Can-Get-Levi’ day” She nodded in the affirmative and Erwin also nodded his agreement, taking a glass from Hanji’s hand and giving it to Levi.

When the three of them had a glass of rosé wine each, a collective sigh seemed to pass their lips at the comfortable feeling of being with each other and having this night to let go. Even Levi was only wearing slacks and one of Eren’s hoodies, he wouldn’t tell either of them that fact but he was sure they had suspected it. The trio had ordered pizza and were now patiently awaiting their greasy and gritty food that Levi couldn’t wait to dive into.

“Oh fuck you, you just use it as an excuse to get drunk enough not to remember tonight tomorrow.” Levi snaps, Erwin laughs throatily behind his hand and takes a long sip from his glass. Levi does much the same, frowning lightly as the sharp taste of something resembling vinegar hits the back of his throat. It would get better; when his tongue would begin to tingle and his head began to swim he would be thankful for the strong taste.

“It has always been fun.” Erwin argues, tipping his glass up a little bit as a gesture to Levi. Levi rolls his eyes and shrugs.

“Sure, I guess. If you call having to hold back Hanji’s hair while simultaneously rubbing your shitty back while you throw up as fun.” And it was, sincerely.

If Levi wasn’t emotionally constipated he would have to agree that he looked forward to this day all year round, and when it was over he couldn’t help but count the days until it would happen again. He wasn’t sure anything bet eating greasy pizza while getting drunk with the closest people in your life. Of course Eren would come under that category, but he was hanging out with Mikasa and Armin today. He knew how important this was for Levi.

“That’s the best part.” Hanji grins wickedly, taking a more than hearty gulp of wine. Ready to get the party started already, by the looks of it.

Before long the trio are huddled around two pizza boxes and two portions of large fries, a bottle of wine already wasted between them.

“Okay, so – no – seriously, you and _Mike?”_ Hanji was saying around a slice of pizza, as she swallowed, she reached to bring the glass to her mouth and mourned the emptiness. She promptly stood up and grabbed the next bottle on their list, a warm jumpiness in her movements.

“Yeah” Erwin rubs the back of his neck, embarrassed. “Just once though, you guys would know if I was in a relationship.” He assures us, holding out a glass to Hanji for her to pour the new wine into while throwing fries into his mouth.

“I can’t believe you didn’t say anything” Levi mutters, baffled by the revelation although more baffled by the fact that he really wasn’t all that shocked. “I kind of thought there was some shit going on there.” Levi shrugs, holding his own glass out to Hanji who after filling out Erwin’s gladly filled out Levi’s.

Similarly, it did not take long for the pizza boxes to be finished and the portions of fries to be empty and another bottle of wine to have vanished. The trio lie on the floor, staring at the ceiling. A more than warm buzz trickles its way down Levi’s throat and settles in his stomach. His tongue is numb and tingling. Absently Levi finds himself bringing his phone from his pocket and sending a message to Eren.

_[Text to][Eren]: Have fun tonight, my little brat. Don’t get too drunk, can’t say the same for myself._

“Stop texting you dorky bastard.” Hanji cries out, gulping the last of her drink.

Two bottles of wine later and the trio had entered the realm of deep talks and incessant hugging and feelings. Surprisingly, from Levi, whom was currently perched in Hanji’s lap, a glass of wine in his hands.

“No, but really. You guys are the greatest, and then there’s that little fucking shit bag Eren and Jesus fucking Christ.” Levi shakes his head. “Like Jesus fuck.” In his wild gestures he throws an arm out and smacks Hanji lightly across the face. Levi curses and apologises fervently.

“Levi, Levi, Levi. Have you seen yourself with that brown haired mop, it’s the most disgustingly perfect thing I’ve ever seen.” Erwin’s usual smooth and clear tone is dulled and slurred and only serves to makes him sound more charming.

“I’m telling you, Levi, you and Eren are the wonder couple.” Hanji agrees. Levi can feel his cheeks flare brightly and he tries to huff indignantly, but fails to do so.

“That fucking dork. He’d be lost without me, I’m surprised he knows how to tie his shoe laces.”

They had finished Levi’s bottle of wine and were part way finished with Hanji’s bottle of champagne by the time that the trio had realised playing _Never Have I Ever_ with a group of people who knew _everything_ you’ve done is little to no fun. So now they had resigned themselves to lying on the floor. At some point during the night, while Hanji and Levi were trying to waltz around Levi’s apartment and not fall over, Erwin had pulled Levi’s mattress from his room and shifted the coffee table in order to make room. He had also grabbed the quilt and pillows.

“There’s not gonna be dick stains on this is there? I don’t wanna sleep in your post-coital mess.” Erwin almost gagged, tripping over his own feet as he was dragging them through.

“Nah, those’ve been washed. I have the little shit well trained, clean sheets always.” Levi says fondly, his words slurring together but his passion clear. By the time they had finished playing _Never Have I Ever_ they were laying on the mattress beneath the quilt, Levi had ditched his sweat pants and so had Erwin, leaving them in their boxers and shirts. Hanji had been wearing her pyjama shorts and large shirt all night, so she lay like that.

Levi was lying in the middle, Hanji and Erwin hugging into his sides. He stared at the ceiling for a long time and with the heavy weight of alcohol on his head and the numbing feeling flowing from his tongue to his stomach, he was content. He was truly content with everything, and the people hugging into his sides and a certain tropical fuck flashed through his mind before sleep pulled him under.

Surprisingly, and thankfully, no one threw up.

~~~

“I’m telling you Armin, this is too much.” Mikasa scolded, her lips peeking out from the red scarf Eren had given her as a birthday present when they were younger. Eren peeked into the refrigerator and shook his head.

“Not at all.” Eren disagreed, smiling brightly over to Armin who gave him a nervous grin back.

“Eren, do you want to die?” She frowned, glaring over with an intensity that could match Levi’s. Eren gulped and shook his head.

“I’m not drinking it all alone; we’re all drinking tonight right?” He raised an eyebrow, determination filling his gaze. “We can do this.”

“I’m not holding back your hair when you throw up tonight, Eren.” Armin warned, laughing while he peers over Eren’s shoulder at their bounty for the night. Two bottles of Marshmallow flavoured vodka, a bottle of Jägarmeister (Get it? Jägar. So funny), a crate of beer, and a bottle of wine that Levi offered Eren for the night. They had their fair share of alcohol for that night that was for sure.

They started with the beers, wanting to ease themselves into the night. The bitterness was strong, but by the third beer the bitterness had disappeared some. The trio dealt with drink rather well; Eren was much like Levi in that he was extremely cheery and incredibly sappy. Armin was a laugher, he preferred to giggle his way through the night and blush after every word. Mikasa was looser; she spoke more and was able to allow Armin and Eren to be a little less under her scrutiny. Not entirely though, Mikasa would always be a mother hen to them both, Eren in particular.

As twenty year olds, the trio were much more adept at rapidly consuming alcohol and it didn’t last very long. Their sobriety did not last long, and before any of them knew it they were dancing around Eren’s small home, music playing faintly in the background. Their dancing went on for hours before the trio decided the floor looked like a comfortable place to collapse.

“No, but what about that midget? He’s a little shit.” Mikasa groaned from where she currently lay.

“Shu’up, Mikasa.” Eren rolled his eyes, laying over her legs, Armin’s own legs sprawled out on top of Eren’s, Mikasa’s head cradled on Armin’s chest and the odd arrangement made them look oddly like a triangle.

“Levi’s decent enough, Mikasa.” Armin argues, giggling quietly. “He did kick Eren out of bed though.” Another bout of giggles escaped the tiny He-man.

“Joking, joking. Who do you think between me and him in a staring conversation, to win I mean” She says, her words heavy with the alcohol she had drunken.

Eren and Armin hummed and hawed for a while, Armin still giggling.

“I think you guys would break the earth by doing that. Please don’t.” Eren pleaded, laughing despite himself.

The trio ended up sleeping tangled in each other’s limbs, comfortable in using each other as their beds. Eren couldn’t help but think that he wouldn’t much mind if this became a tradition. He could get used to getting warm and fuzzy and falling asleep with his family after a long nights worth of drinking.

 


	17. Holiday Cheer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren spends Christmas Eve and Christmas with Levi!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This hasn't been proof-read. Here's to hoping it's not entirely shit. 
> 
> (I'll look over it in the morning, I'm just exhausted as of right now.)

Eren had made the trip to Levi’s early in the morning, determined to spend the entire day with Levi. Levi’s birthday gift was already wrapped and concealed within the shorter man’s home, hidden where Levi wouldn’t find it ( _Hint: The top shelf in his wardrobe, he couldn’t reach it)._ When Eren arrived, he allowed himself into the apartment, tip-toeing into the room. It was early enough that Levi still had not roused from his sleep and he was currently squished between Hanji and Erwin and Eren couldn’t help the chuckle that passes his lips quietly.

Previous to Eren coming to Levi’s apartment he had gone to the store to pick up everything he had needed in order to spend the day with Levi how he wished, and so Eren made his way quietly to the kitchen. Careful of the sleeping bodies, he climbed passed them silently and dropped his bounty onto the counter without a sound. Removing the ingredients and such was no silent fiasco; the rustling of a plastic bag could not be helped unfortunately. However, Eren did manage to place everything into their respective places; Flour, sugar, vanilla extract, chocolate chips and other such baking goods went into Levi’s cupboards. Butter, milk, eggs and the bottle of champagne Eren had bought all nestled into Levi’s fridge rather snugly.

By the time Levi roused from his sleep, Eren had laid himself across Levi’s couch. His shoes had been removed at the door and he had found a blanket to snuggle himself under. He had fallen asleep late and gotten up early and the heaviness in his stomach and weariness in his head still lingered. Levi couldn’t move from where he lay due to the masses on either side of him, so he elected to wriggle his arm free and smack Eren’s forearm where it lay covering his face. When Eren moaned and moved his arm to look at the person responsible from waking him from his nap, he beamed to see Levi awake.

“Good morning, you shitty little brat. I didn’t expect to see you till later.” Levi murmured, kicking the bodies beside him in order to remove himself from their grasps. Eren laughed, covering his mouth.

“Good morning to you too, I expected you to be already up.” Eren admitted, his features showing a childlike glee. He grinned to Erwin and Hanji as they slowly awoke from their drunken sleep.

“Oh Eren~!” Hanji cried, looking way too happy to have just been woken by a rather mean kick to the shin by Levi. “Good morning! You didn’t get too drunk last night, did you?” She scolded, almost motherly. Eren had to laugh again, she reminded him of Mikasa when she said stuff in that tone.

“I wasn’t too bad, I didn’t throw up anyway.” He said, rubbing the back of his neck as he grinned. Erwin was already moving around and placing his clothes on from last night.

“Good morning, Eren.” He said, his tone thick and gruff with sleep and alcohol. Levi rolled his eyes over to them and moved from the mattress to sit on the edge of the couch, his fingers idly playing with Eren’s hair as he watches the other two gather their things.

“Looking forward to next year” Hanji cries out, dancing her way into jeans and a top that she’d brought the day before to change into. Before long the pair were ready and about to leave. Eren was helping Levi carry his mattress back through to his bedroom, stripping his quilt and pillows and placing them into the laundry.

“Okay, we’ll see you two lovebirds later!” Hanji cried out, Erwin dragging her along by the forearm.

“We’ll see you guys some other time, Merry Christmas Eve.” Erwin called over his shoulder. Hanji, Levi and Eren all called out a Merry Christmas Eve back just as the door closed. When all was silent Eren turned to Levi and grinned.

“I think I prefer your drunken bed-head to normal bed-head.” Eren comments, pulling on fresh pillow cases. Levi rolled his eyes and threw a pillow at Eren’s head before placing matching quilt covers over his quilt.

“Shut up, you look like you could take a shower yourself.” Levi scolded, pressing the quilt down and smiling as he takes in the clean smelling covers. Eren shrugged and turned on his heel, making his way from the room and stopping at the bathroom door.

“Care to join me?” Levi was already leaving his bedroom when Eren called out and Levi nodded, smiling to himself.

Once the pair had brushed their teeth with their respective toothbrushes and the water was of an acceptable temperature the pair stepped into the warmth and out of the cold that December descended upon Levi’s apartment. They stood together for a long time, getting used to the heat the pounded onto them, it wasn't long before Levi reached behind Eren to grab the body wash and start to scrub his boyfriend down.

Levi lathered the body wash over Eren’s shoulders, his fingers soft and pressing into Eren’s skin, relieving any knots he felt along his shoulders and collar bones. Levi lifted an arm and continued to wash Eren. Eren remained silent, mostly, throughout the experience. He preferred to watch Levi work, watch his fingers as the pushed and pressed into his skin. Levi washed his arms and torso, but allowed Eren to wash his groin and legs – not for any reason in particular ( _Hint: Because Levi wouldn’t be able to grip Eren’s cock without an impromptu hand-job, and cleaning Eren’s legs meant kneeling in front of Eren, and impromptu blow-jobs were not unheard of)_. The encounter was to remain as intimate as possible without dipping into deeper waters.

While Eren mimicked Levi’s earlier actions, lathering body wash onto Levi’s torso and working his fingers over Levi’s skin, Levi grabbed the coconut shampoo and ran his fingers into Eren’s hair. Eren hummed into the motion and Levi couldn’t help but grin.

“You’re such a cat sometimes.” He commented. Both hands were lost in Eren’s hair, massaging his scalp and covering his hair in the tropical smelling substance. When Eren stopped to let Levi clean himself and his legs ( _Hint: For much the same reason as Levi),_ Eren was pulled under the shower head and he removed the shampoo from his hair. Eren washed Levi’s hair when Levi covered Eren’s hair in similarly coconutty smelling conditioner.

When the pair were done, they stood for a while just relaxing in the warmth of the water and the general feeling of contented happiness that filled them whenever they were with the other. Soft pecks and kisses were shared, along with lingering touches and wandering fingers along their abdomens, never dipping too low. They exited the shower when they noticed each other’s fingers pruning and their skin turning a light red.

They dried and dressed themselves before making their way to the living room, happy enough that they had the sense to clean the living room before going for a shower.

“So why were you so adamant to spend the entire day with me?” Levi commented, perching on the stool at his breakfast bar and spinning it to look at Eren, who stood just in front of Levi. He smiled like a small child caught in the act of stealing cookies.

“Christmas is a time for family.” Eren said, rubbing the back of his neck as he blushed. “And I know that – that you don’t really have family so we’re going to do all of the horrendously cheesy and cliché things today” Eren laughed, rocking back onto the balls of his heels. Levi rolled his eyes and grabbed onto Eren’s shirt and pulled him down to kiss Levi. He smiled against Eren’s lips and nipped at his lower lip before letting him go.

“You’re a fucking ass.” Levi said, hopping from the stool and standing toe to toe with Eren. “So what is it we’re doing?”

~~~

Five hours later and the pair had made four dozen batches of cookies, more dough in their hair than had been in the bowl – or so Levi made it out to be as he feigned annoyance and disgust. Eren had insisted on Christmas music and it was playing in the background, keeping the mood cheery and upbeat.

“Cookies for dinner tonight?” Eren suggested, looking at their assortment of Christmas tree shaped  - as well as decorated – cookies.

“Don’t be such a brat.” Levi scolded, but laughed nonetheless and shook his head. “Do you think pizza places are delivering today?” he asks absentmindedly, looking for the menu for their usual pizza joint

In fact, they did deliver and the pair had enough time to clean up the kitchen and arrange the cookies neatly onto a plate, placing them on the coffee table. When the pizza arrived, Eren and Levi settled down to watch _The Grinch Who Stole Christmas._

“How appropriate.” Eren laughed, snuggled up to Levi beneath a blanket. As silly as it sounded, the pair had decided that hot cocoa and pizza was most definitely their favourite combination for winter foods. Eren gripped onto his mug with one hand and finished his half of the pizza off with the other. Levi rolled his eyes and flicked Eren’s head.

“Don’t even dare compare me to the Grinch.” Levi scowled, half laughing as he attempted to finish his pizza off in the next bite.

“He’s taller.” Levi smacked the back of Eren’s head, but Eren laughed and snuggled closer.

Once the movies they had planned to watch had finished it was late evening, the pair found themselves decorating the apartment. Eren had persuaded Levi to buy some actual Christmas decorations along with a tree and tree decorations. Eren was extremely excited and festive, he put the Christmas music from earlier start to play again. Eren and Levi hung up the tinsel and reefs and fairy lights that Eren had bought and by the time they’d done that the apartment was already looking homey and warm.

“The tree?” Eren raised an eyebrow, turning from placing a small figurine of santa onto Levi’s faux fireplace. He looked so cheery that Levi couldn’t help the cheer that threatened his usual stoic, crass nature.

“It’s in the cupboard in the hall, I have the decorations in our room. You get the tree I’ll get the decorations.” Levi turned on his heel and he could hear Eren squeal with glee. This was the same man who terrified Levi every time he argued with Jean. Levi couldn’t help but roll his eyes.

They gathered in the living room and Eren was able to set the tree up in an acceptable place. They both helped place ornaments on the tree and when it got too high for Levi, he passed the ornaments on to Eren, who placed them according to Levi’s positioning instructions. They had decided to drink the bottle of champagne while they were doing this and it loosened them up and made them giggly. Levi wasn’t sure he remembered a time he felt this content with a person before.

Levi allowed Eren to place the star on the tree, and when it was complete, Eren turned to kiss Levi long and sweet. He smiled brightly down to Levi and back up to the tree.

“Merry Christmas Eve” He murmured, wrapping his arms around Levi’s waist, and resting his head on Levi’s shoulder.

“Merry Christmas Eve, Brat. Now let’s get to bed, I’m fucked.” Eren laughed and dragged his boyfriend off to bed. They lay nestled together, a tangle of limbs and words and heartbeats. Their breaths were even and calm, and seemed traitorous to the energetic buzz that constantly surrounded the pair whenever they lay so near each other.

Levi allowed Eren to ramble on and on about history, and how much of it people tend to ignore, or rationalise.

“Did you know that Martin Luther King Jr. and Anne Frank were born in the same year? Yet we associate them with different points in history.” Levi seemed to mull Eren’s words over and absently drew nonsensical pictures into Eren’s thigh with his index finger. Levi looked off to a space behind Eren’s head.

“Perhaps it’s because we associate Martin Luther King Jr. with control and associate Anne Frank with chaos. Or at least for me; I’ve always thought Martin Luther King Jr. had connotations of reason and peace and Anne Frank connotations of Nazi-Germany” Levi murmurs before turning his gaze back to Eren. “But ultimately, I suppose, they died for being who they were. Eren frowns thoughtfully before nodding.

“People like us die for being who we are.” Eren points out, and suddenly the air is thick with unsaid words. They remain thoughtfully silent for an excruciating amount of time, thinking Eren’s words over.

“But not us.” Levi finally manages to force from his lips, he presses himself further against Eren.

“No, not us.” Eren agreed, tightening his hold on Levi before they fell into a considerate slumber.

~~~

Levi awoke the next morning when he felt a sudden change in weight as Eren launched himself into bed. The little brat had managed to actually pull himself from bed before Levi had, twice in a row. If Levi wasn’t shocked, he was sure he had a concussion and should probably get that checked out.

“ _MERRY CHRISTMAS.”_ Eren laughed, straddling Levi over the covers. He laughs and Levi can only grunt his reply before pulling Eren into a long, sweet and tender kiss. He smiles when Levi realises that Eren had already brushed his teeth that morning.

“Merry Christmas to you too, you shitty brat.” Levi did not mention that now he was also a year older, but he was sure Eren would mention it sooner or later.

“And happy birthday to my pensioner boyfriend.”

That fuck.

Levi drew his knees up to his chest, throwing Eren off balance till he lay with his back on the bed in front of Levi, who pressed his feet against Eren’s ass and pushed until the lump fell out of bed. Levi snickered then before throwing a pillow down to smack Eren in the face.

“You shit, you weren’t saying that a few days ago.” Levi gets out of bed and makes it before changing into his clothes and brushing his teeth, leaning to look through the bathroom door to a dishevelled but deeply happy Eren. He blushed and Eren laughed. “You are an actual child.”

“Come on, we gotta do presents.” Eren whines excitedly, his presents had already been placed under the tree, along with Levi’s. Some of Levi’s were in fact for Hanji and Erwin, but those idiots would come along later when everyone came around for Christmas dinner.

Levi rolled his eyes in reply to Eren, but allowed him to drag him into the living room regardless. Eren ushered Levi over to the tree and told him to sit. Levi flipped him off but complied happily enough.

“D’ya wanna open them at the same time?” Eren asked, rummaging through the packages till he was able to find Levi’s Christmas and birthday presents. Levi soon followed suit and grabbed his presents for Eren, arranging them neatly in a pile in front of his person. Eren’s eyes lit up like the Christmas tree lights and Levi couldn’t help the eye roll and chuckle that followed Eren’s excitement.

“No, I want to see if you’ll like what I got you or not.” Levi protested, standing from his sitting position.

“Oi! Where are you going!” Eren cried.

“To make some hot cocoa, don’t get your dick in a twist.” Levi scoffs, laughing as he pads through to the kitchen. Levi makes the cocoa as slow as humanly possible because he enjoyed watching Eren squirm with the presents sitting just in front of him. Levi, however, was also excited so the slow pace he was going at was killing him as well, it just so happened to be that Eren’s impatience was worth Levi’s own.

When he was finished, Levi set a mug down in front of Eren and placed his own down next to his presents before leaving once more to retrieve the left-over cookies from the day before. Levi plops himself down again, his legs crossed as he steals a cookie.

“Okay, ready.” Levi murmurs around the cookie, too exhausted to worry about manners. Eren bounced excitedly from his spot and set his mug down after taking a long gulp of the hot creamy liquid. Levi rolls his eyes and laughs. He reaches forward and picks up a present that was clearly a book of some sorts and handed it to Eren. Eren glanced at the book and back at Levi before unwrapping the meticulously wrapped present. Levi bit his lip and looked to a place behind Eren’s head, unable to stifle the unmanly giggle about to leave his lips.

“A dictionary?” Eren’s gaze shoots to Levi’s quickly crumbling composure, Levi – no longer able to hold it back – dissolved into soft chuckles and grinned widely.

“Maybe now your text messages will resemble an actual language, I only pray that it’s English” Levi chuckles and dodges the cushion from the couch that Eren grabs to throw at Levi. Eren laughs too though and holds the dictionary tightly to his chest. Picking up Levi’s hot cocoa mug again he cradles it in his hands he nods to the next present, a smaller one on the right. “Okay, that one now.” Eren hesitantly picks it up and seems to scrutinise the box before unwrapping it just as neatly as he had the last time. This time Levi watches Eren’s expression as he considers the collar. Eren lifts it from the box and lets his fingers glide over the leather.

“Levi?” Eren glances at Levi for a moment, confusion pulling his gaze. “Is this for me?” For a moment Levi stares at Eren, his eyebrows knitting together before he breathes out an amused sigh, if a sigh could sound amused. Levi starts to laugh softly before the sound escalates and he’s holding his sides. Levi can’t remember the last time he laughed so hard, and faintly he sees the growing confusion on Eren’s face.

“No, y-you shitty brat.” Levi breathes out between laughs. “I- I thought we could- could get a cat.” As hard is it was for him, Levi tries to hold back his giggles, taking deep breaths.

“A cat?” Eren’s confusion dissipates and excitement takes its place. “You want to get a cat with me?” Eren’s surprise and excitement takes over his entire face and Levi nods, his eyes bright with the unshed tears from laughing. Eren leans forward and pulls Levi to him for a long and sweet kiss before laughing himself. “Okay, yes. Let’s get a cat.” They laugh for a few seconds more before resting back into their previous positions.

The gifts were humorous and thoughtful, and some were so unbelievably cheesy it made the both of them blush, but no present was a bad present. Levi couldn’t even complain entirely at Eren having bought him a Jägermeister t-shirt, purely because he knew what one of Hanji’s presents to Eren was, and the coincidence was hugely funny to Levi.

When Birthday and Christmas presents alike – not to mention some thank-you-sex - were out of the way, and Christmas dinner had come and went with Mikasa, Armin, Erwin and Hanji all sat together around Levi’s dining table talking about everything and nothing all at once the pair collapsed into bed together. Curled into one another’s chest, they breathed as softly as their fingers glided along each other’s torsos.

“Are we going to pick out a cat tomorrow?” Eren asks, excitement clear in his surprisingly exhausted voice. Levi nods, humming his agreement as he shuffles closer to Eren’s warmth.

“Let’s go to the shelter, not some swanky pet store, okay?” Eren says, arms wrapped tightly around his boyfriend. At that, Levi’s heart grew twice its normal size; if anybody knew what abandonment felt like, it was Eren Jaegar. Levi nodded his agreement and kissed Eren’s collar bone.

“Okay.”

“Goodnight, brat.” Levi mumbled into Eren’s chest.

“Goodnight, Levi. Happy birthday.”


	18. Ravioli and New Year's

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren and Levi pick our their new little family member and spend New Year's with everyone!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the shortest chapter I have ever written for this fic I believe, and I feel awful about it. I just really wanted to write something for New Year's. 
> 
> This is extremely pitiful and I hope 19 and 20 are better.  
> (I just finished writing 19 and I'm not sure on how I feel about it yet, it'll probably go through quite a bit of changes. (Hopefully more too because it's surprisingly short, I thought it would be a lot longer.)
> 
> Anyhoo. My point is. I will have finished this by tomorrow and I feel awful about this fic finally coming to an end because everyone has had such nice things to say and everything you have said has been absolutely extraordinary and flattering.  
> (This makes it sound like I'm not writing another Ereri fic that will be out as soon as I have more than one chapter sitting done. Another 20 chapter one and I have everything planned out. Keep your eyes open for another fic from me then! Or not, I wouldn't blame you ahahaha)
> 
> This is so short it hurts. I'm so sorry.

“What was it Hanji used to call you all the time?” Eren says, his hands full of the kitten that was currently trying to meow in Eren’s grasp. The sound was pathetically adorable and Eren could feel his heart squeezing every time it mewled. Eren had picked out an ash grey kitten with an impossibly blue eye; the other had been sewn shut after it had received an infection and had to have the eyeball removed. Apparently one-eyed kittens were not all that desirable. Eren had felt an immediate pull towards the kitten however, and when Eren gave Levi those eyes he couldn’t say no.

“You mean Ravioli?” Levi called as he rummaged through the supplies they had gathered at the pet store. They had decided the cat would stay at Levi’s, the reason hadn’t been spoken aloud, yet they both understood it was because when Eren wasn’t staying over Levi was alone and the bed was dauntingly huge to Levi now that he had shared it with Eren.

“Yeah! I think we should call her Ravioli!” Eren cried, scratching the chin of the kitten softly; the kitten mewled in response. The kitten was perhaps half a year old, and was therefore still tiny (although that had a lot to do with malnutrition from its previous owners).

“You want to name her after a nickname Hanji gave me?” Levi asked doubtfully, confusion edging into his tone. The scratching post they had purchased sat in the corner, the litter box in the bathroom (because Levi refused to have feline faecal matter being in the kitchen),  food trays in the kitchen and a multitude of toys that rested inside of the kitten’s bed, which rested neatly against the couch.

“Mmhm!” Eren hummed happily, holding the kitten in one hand against his chest, tapping its head lightly and laughing. “I think Ravioli is a good name!” Eren says defensively, placing the kitten down into her bed, shifting the toys to the opposite side so as not to disturb the kitten.

“Ravioli, huh?” Levi gave a shrug and nodded. “Sure, I can deal with Ravioli.”

“I don’t understand why she calls you that.” Eren mused aloud, making his way to the couch and sitting down, Levi followed suit and threw his legs over Eren’s. He sat closer enough that Levi could rest his head on Eren’s shoulder, and Eren could wrap an arm around Levi’s shoulder.

“As a kid, I spelled my name as Rivaille, and so I kept it like that until adulthood; Hanji saw one day and accidentally read it as Ravioli. She just kept it to piss me off.” Levi rolls his eyes.

Eren huffs a laugh and he and Levi arch their necks in order look down at the kitten, happy with their choice in pets. As soon as Levi and Eren had brought Ravioli home Eren had placed the collar around her neck and now that the piece of leather sat comfortably around the kittens throat, it really seemed as if Levi and Eren had begun their own little family.

A week later, on New Year’s Eve, Levi stood in Eren’s backyard with their friends and he couldn’t spare a thought for little Ravioli; whom currently was sleeping on Eren’s side of the bed. Everyone had turned up to celebrate the coming New Year. Reiner, Berthold and Annie had come together as per the usual and greeted Eren and Levi in varying degrees of warmth. Marco and Jean turned up together and were soon followed by Connie and Sasha, whom were arguing which tasted better - M&M’s or Skittles; Connie argued Skittles and Sasha said that was barbaric. Ymir and Christa were the last to appear, Christa pulling Ymir by the hand. Hanji and Erwin (as well as Armin and Mikasa of course) had also made it to Eren’s home in one piece. Eren had seemed excited to see them all in a singular setting, and they seemed just as excited.

Eren had purposefully planned the party to be late so they would go through the turning of the New Year, and as a result it was pitch black. Explosions cut through the darkness in bright strings of fire raining in the air; red, green, blue, pink, it was an explosion of colour against a vast blackness. The large group of people meant that the cold was bearable, but only just. Smoke tumbled from their lips every time they exhaled and it dissipated into the air above their head.

The chatter was actually very comforting to Levi who had never enjoyed people conversing loudly. Levi supposed this was because the sense of friendship, excitement and a shared fear of the following year drew them all tightly together and connected them all. Eren had worked up a small campfire in the garden and they were all currently sitting around it, watching the flames snap and whip in the night air. Levi sat in Eren’s lap, curled in his scarf and jumper but still desiring the heat that Eren always seemed to be able to project.

The group talked and laughed until their stomachs were sore and their cheeks hurt from laughing too often. General conversation and thoughtful ramblings befell them, as well as childhood stories. To Levi it felt as if this group of people were trying to leave their mark on everyone else, leave a part of them with you. Levi smiled softly to himself and nudged back into Eren’s warmth, strong arms tightened around him in answer.

When it finally came time for the countdown, the group were content with themselves and with their company. Levi wasn’t sure, but he could practically feel the weight that had been lifted that evening. Even if people weren’t really saying anything; they were saying everything. Long talks did that, made you feel lighter. Levi hadn’t known what that was like until Eren, didn’t want a conversation to last more than five minutes. Eren had taught Levi the feeling of weightlessness a completely unnecessary conversation could give you, and suddenly the conversation seemed entirely necessary.

The group grinned and cheered while calling out the numbers, Levi not so much. Hanji and Erwin had tried to force him to do so, but Levi also swatted at them and flipped them off. He remained close to Eren’s side, which wasn’t saying much since everyone was crowding round him as he counted down from his watch. By the time the countdown reached zero, all of the couples were already kissing, murmuring their happy New Year’s wishes to their respective other halves. When Levi and Eren parted they could only grin at the other, another peck was shared before Eren ran off to give everyone pecks and good wishes on the following year. Everyone received a hug and a happy new year, the night carried on for hours and no one went home.

 Eren’s living room was littered in blankets and mattresses and sleeping bags, and most importantly – Eren’s living room was littered with sleeping bodies. Eren wasn’t sure there was a feeling quite like falling asleep in a room fool of your drunken friends.


	19. Before the Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren and Levi struggle with the stress of exams they aren't even taking.

When February came along it had not been a hard transition for Eren to move into Levi’s apartment; he stayed so often he may as well have been living with Levi anyway.  Eren seemed to be more excited about being able to constantly see Ravioli however, and the fact had made Levi laugh quite a bit. Ravioli had been a perfect companion while Eren hadn’t been there, as much as Levi hated unnecessary dirt or cat hairs that Ravioli typically left Levi had allowed Ravioli to sleep in bed with him. Ravioli made the bed seem less large and more comfortable. The kitten seemed to notice this and always purred and kneaded at the bed, something Levi was trying to get the kitten to stop doing but didn’t want to stop the kitten from being happy, and he couldn’t deny it was damn adorable.

Levi found living with Eren was a lot like living with a best friend you had occasional sex with. He had enjoyed it far more than he had expected he would enjoy living with another person, never mind it being Eren Jaegar. The brat had been surprisingly good at taking care of the kitten, constantly cleaning the litter tray and making sure she had enough to eat. He cared for the kitten like he would care for a child and Levi found that incredibly endearing.

There were parts of each other that neither had really come across in their months of dating. Things like Eren swaying and dancing around the kitchen as he cooked, which he did often and was a surprising natural at. The first time Levi witnessed Eren partake in such an act had been when the background music had been disturbed by some humming and Levi had peeked from the top of the collection of Oscar Wilde poems Eren had given him at Christmas for his Birthday. The young man had his back to Levi and was swaying along with the music, his humming clear above the song that had been playing. Levi had shaken his head and went back to reading his book.

Eren had discovered, however, that Levi occasionally wore reading glasses. In the four months that the pair had been together Eren had never once seen Levi wearing glasses and now that he had, he didn’t know why the thought never occurred to him before. The rectangle rimmed glasses made Levi look particularly successful and sophisticated and - hell, Eren couldn’t deny it – incredibly hot. Naturally, as soon as he’d stumbled in on Levi reading with his reading glasses on, Eren couldn’t get the image of a slick haired, glasses clad Levi. The thought was extremely distracting.

The months that had followed New Year’s had been erratic and heavy with work. Exam season was coming up, and both Eren and Levi were up to their necks in stress and worry about their kids. So much so that Ravioli found it difficult to console the both of them at the same time. Neither of them saw much of the other; free periods were spent with students for extra work and Lunch was spent much the same. When the pair got home it was further work and marking, and with separate subjects it was no easy feat to accomplish with two teachers in the same home.

The only time the pair spent together was when they passed out exhausted in their beds, facing away from each other. At some point, Ravioli had given up sleeping in her own bed and now slept in the crevice between Eren and Levi. Mornings were hectic and rushed, more often than not Eren would leave with half eaten toast still caught between his teeth.

Currently, it seemed, the only time the pair had time for each other was when they needed to release pent up frustration, and unfortunately not in the way that either would have preferred. Bickering was not uncommon, and mostly it was light-hearted and wasn’t all that much to worry about. Even their larger arguments weren’t anything serious, both parties storming away with stubborn abandon and coming back hours later only to apologise and make up for their earlier fight.

The last time they had had any real time together that didn’t end in nonsensical bickering had been Eren’s birthday. They had both put aside any work that they had to do and made sure they were as relaxed as possible for the day. Levi had made sure to pamper Eren, and decided that a spa day was what Eren needed – especially with it being just before exams had really began. Levi and Eren spent the day in sauna’s and steam rooms and immediately being blasted by freezing cold water, some bullshit about it closing your pores or some shit. Mud baths and massages followed their time in the steam rooms. By the end of the night the two were so relaxed and loose they felt like they had been reborn again.

Levi had of course gotten Eren some gifts that he gave to the brat when they had gotten home. The dork was hopelessly enraptured with Game of Thrones, and so Levi had bought him the book set in hopes that Eren might actually want to read the series instead of having stop when a season does. Some smaller gifts too, some DVD’s and CD’s here and there.

~~~~

 

The stress and time spent away from each other had really taken its toll on the pair, and the culmination of tension and strain became too much. While at home, a few days before both of the English and History exams which had been situated in the same week, Levi stomped through from the kitchen. A dirty rag in his hands, Levi folds his arms and flicks his wrist so he can throw the rag at Eren. The rag rests on top of a confused Eren – who had been marking some extra essays some of his students had written as extra practise.

“When was the last time you fucking cleaned around here?” Levi snaps, his voice harsher than he intended; but really? Was it so hard to wipe down a counter top around here? Eren knew exactly how much stress Levi had been under and how much work he still had to do, and yet the shitty little brat still couldn’t manage to clean a fucking kitchen counter top.

“What the fuck, Levi? I was working!” Eren exclaimed, having torn the rag from the top of his head. The rag had been soaking and impact of the rag against Eren’s head had sprayed water onto the essays in front of him, still-wet ink running. Eren shot up, fuming. “Are you fucking kidding me, Levi?” And at that moment, Levi perhaps would have been vehemently apologizing for ruining his work but anger was raw inside of him.

Levi stood his ground, his arms still folded but his fists balled and his cheeks red with anger. “You fucking bet I’m serious. I have work to do too you shitting brat, not that you would understand what real work was.” Levi shot, his gaze accusatory.

“If you weren’t so fucking anal about cleaning maybe you could get some fucking work done!” Eren exclaimed, throwing his arms up in exasperation.

“If I didn’t clean up around here, no one fucking would. You’re a fucking slob.” Levi bit back. Anger breaking through his previous stoic and uninterested gaze. Eren fumed, his face turning beet red.

“Well fuck you, I’m not the one with a fucking complex, dick!” Eren turned back to his ruined essay and tried desperately to dab the water away and save what was irreversible. “Fucking hell, some kid probably spent hours on this.” Eren shot over his shoulder, glaring at the shorter man who merely raised an eyebrow.

“Hours? It’s history, no one gives a shit. Fifteen minutes to copy and save an entire essay from the internet.” Levi scoffed, rolling his eyes and turning his back to Eren.

“You know what? You’re a right fucking asshole, Levi. You know that? With the way you treat Hanji, I’m surprised she’s not just gathered her ties and cut them with you. You’re so damn irritable.” In a fit of childish rage, Eren throws the rag at the back of Levi’s head. It is assumed that Levi was not entirely pleased with the addition to his head. Levi spun on his heel and glared at Eren with an anger he hadn’t seen on his features before. “or all of your damn shit jokes, you fail to see that you’re so incredibly emotionally fucking constipated, you dick!”

“Don’t you fucking mention Hanji or Erwin, you have no fucking right to.” Levi spit, venom lacing his tone. “You’re so fucking stubborn and arrogant and fucking bull-headed. It’s a wonder Armin and Mikasa can stick around.” Levi’s fists remain curled, but he unfolds his arms and lets them rest at his sides. He rationally knew that they were arguing over the most pitiful thing, the most pathetic of subjects and yet the stress induced anger wouldn’t let up.

“It’s no fucking wonder everyone who loved you left you.” Levi finally spat.

As the words sunk in for both of them the full weight of them really hit both Eren and Levi. All at once their anger disappeared and Levi took a step forward, his hand outstretched towards Eren in wordless comfort.

“Get out.” Eren’s words were harsh and concise, so sharp Levi was sure they would leave a scar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO THIS IS THE PENULTIMATE CHAPTER.
> 
> I HAVE LOVED YOU ALL.
> 
> I HAVE WANTED TO KISS YOU ALL
> 
> I HAVE WANTED TO CRY MULTIPLE TIMES BUT NOW IT'S ALL OVER AND I'M NOT SURE IF I'M RELIEVED OR UPSET.
> 
> I can give you the name of my fic that will follow this one
> 
> ARE YOU READY KIDS?
> 
> IT'S GOING TO BE CALLED: The Titanic Virus
> 
> ENJOY


	20. Come in With the Rain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi fucked up bad and now he's gotta fix it, but first he has to get Eren to talk to him.

“Get the fuck out right now. I don’t give a shit if this is your apartment or not.”

“It’s yours too.” Levi said meekly, his tone so weak and pitiful that Levi resented himself. Not just for feeling so fucking horrible about what he’d said, but because he knew those words would cut deeper than any other for Eren and had decided to use it against him anyhow. All anger had dissipated, all of it. He now stood in a weary and exhausted state from the exertion that arguing with Eren often left Levi in.

“Then get out. Right fucking now, I’m not kidding.” Levi would never have thought that Eren was kidding. The harshness in Eren’s eyes reminded Levi again of a storm, but this storm was not beautiful, no. This storm was dangerous, this storm was deadly and this storm was meant to leave no survivors. Levi was drowning and each breath brought nothing more than more Caribbean water into his lungs. Levi lived and breathed Eren, and now he was slowly suffocating him. Levi stood stock still for what felt like an eternity, he was lost in Eren and Eren was a labyrinth not readily allowing Levi his exit.

And Levi hated himself.

“ _Go”_ Eren said, his voice steady, strong and calm but the storm raging in his eyes betrayed his hurt, betrayed his anger and betrayed his tears.

“Okay, I’m going.” Levi’s voice, in complete contrast was not steady, was not strong and was most definitely not calm. His voice wavered and was weak, he was tempestuous. Levi turned his back on Eren and made his way to the door and instead of slamming the door shut behind him like any person would do in an argument, Levi closed it calmly and with a soft click the door was shut off. Levi couldn’t help but think that if their life had been documented somehow, the closed door would be somewhat metaphoric.

Levi went to the first place he could think of; Hanji’s. The moment he parked in her driveway she was out of the door, a surprising anger in her eyes.

“You fucked up big time, Levi.” She says, her usual cheery and welcoming (and nonsensical) tone switched for one more fit for berating a young child. Levi sighed and hung his head, feeling much like a juvenile.

“I know, Hanji. I know.” He rubs his temples with his fingers and sighs deeply. “You’ll let me stay here, wont you?” Levi should have guessed Eren would message Hanji as soon as he left, the shit knew Levi better than Levi knew Levi.

“Of course you can, but don’t expect me to pussyfoot around you. This one was your doing, and you’ve got a long way before Eren will even consider talking to you again, if what he’s telling me is right.” Hanji folds her arms over her chest and puffs her cheeks out, trying her best to seem indignant and unyielding. Levi nodded, his composure breaking as he slumps. His eyes and head are heavy with guilt and upset and his body remained fatigued.

“I know, Hanji. I know I fucked up. Can I sleep?” Levi murmurs his voice weak and low. He makes his way sluggishly to Hanji’s door without further conversation, dragging his feet as he goes.  He opens the door and flops down onto her couch, turning to face the cushions and curling up. Hanji follows him inside and doesn’t say anything else to Levi; Levi supposes she can see he’s beating himself up about it enough. Hanji lifts Levi’s head, and he was about to protest when she plopped herself down and rested Levi’s head in her lap. She curled her fingers through his hair, soothing him. Levi fell asleep far quicker than if Hanji had not been comforting him.

~~~

Over the next couple of weeks there were no words, merely unanswered texts from Levi. Levi had tried apologising every way possible and it had killed him to know his words had hurt Eren so grievously. Levi had not slept a full night since the day before his and Eren’s argument and deep purple bruises were starting to appear under Levi’s eyes.

Eren never came to watch Levi teach anymore, and never came to the English lounge to eat with the others. The only time the pair saw each other at school was when they happened to be passing through the same corridor. Levi always tried to say something but the words either got caught in his throat or Eren would ignore him, perhaps most painful for Levi was noticing that the very same bruises under his eyes were appearing under Eren’s.  Levi hadn’t seen the brat’s eyes look so dull before, his usual excited gaze was now nothing more than uninteresting and brought no extra life to the room like it had before.

Levi had tried to call Eren and have him talk it through and yet still he came to no avail. Eren seemed to be trying to cut Levi out of his life completely. Levi received apologetic yet firm messages from Armin and angry ones from Mikasa. All of this and there had been no confirmed breakup, there was no absolute end and Levi had to have hope in that. Levi had to trust that there was a way to work this out.

On the fourth week with no contact Levi was feeling the quickening ache of loss constantly, the perpetual state of fatigue that Levi felt never ceased. It had been a month since he stayed in his own bed and a month since he’d been able to curl up into Eren’s warmth and a month since he last felt content. Hanji was beginning to feel desperate about the entire situation, and surprisingly so was Mikasa. The angry messages were still persistent, but now more desperate questions came through: ‘ _When are you getting back together’_ , ‘ _Eren’s not sleeping right, you dick’_ , ‘ _seriously, you guys need to kiss and make up now’._ It was all very hard for Levi to read and furthered the need Hanji felt to force her hand.

She stormed into the living room one day while Levi was staring blindly at the television.

“We’re going to get you two to at least talk.” She says firmly, and at first Levi ignores her, his eyes trained on the television in front of him.

“He doesn’t want to.” Levi said absently, a crease forming between his eyebrow and idly his mind flashed to Eren prodding the very spot in order to ease Levi’s headache. His gaze strays from the TV and to the floor.

“Look, I’ll give him a call from my phone. He’ll answer that way.” Levi frowned but nodded. Hanji pulled her mobile from her pocket and slid through her contacts until Eren’s name popped up. She pressed his name and pressed call and passed the phone to Levi. It rung four times and each time it run his heart pounded faster, dropping straight to his stomach, he thought he would be sick. He was about to give up when the ringing stopped.

“Hanji?” His voice made Levi freeze. It was thick and gruff with upset and Levi couldn’t speak, his words caught in his throat. “Hanji? Are you there? Is it Levi? Has he done something? Fuck he hasn’t done anything stupid has he?” The concern that was evident in Eren’s tone brought tears to Levi’s eyes and as he cleared his throat and rested his head between his knees he took a deep steadying breath.

“Eren it’s me.” His voice sounded a lot like Eren’s; thick and deep and broken. Levi heard the soft gasp at the other end of the line and was sure he would hang up.

“Speak.” His tone was harsher but was still weak and full of sadness.

“Eren. I haven’t been sleeping, I haven’t eaten properly in four weeks, I’ve been going bat shit crazy here, and I’m pretty sure Hanji is going even more bat shit crazy with me living here, and I didn’t think that was possible.” Levi lifts his head from its position and shot Hanji a look; she gave him a thumbs up. His breath caught again and Levi forced himself to clear his throat once more before whispering into the phone.

“I miss that stupid kitten, I miss watching it fall over itself about as much as you fall over yourself.” Levi hears an indignant huff on the other end of the line and dares a smirk. “I miss you Eren, you fucked me over for ever sleeping on my own again, I can’t do it.” Levi pauses and waits for an answer on the other line. His heart squeezes painfully and when there’s just a quiet hum of static on the other end of the line Levi tries one last plea.

“Please, just – can we speak face to face? I miss seeing you.”

“You see me at work.”           

“That’s different and you know it.” Levi retorts his heart still in his stomach, beating erratically.

“This doesn’t mean I forgive you.” Eren says on the other end of the line, his tone definite. Levi nods even though Eren couldn’t possibly see it.

“I never asked you to.” Levi absently hears rain beginning to pour outside and a glance outside confirms his hearing. The sky was grey and dark and brooding, rain drops bouncing harshly against the pavement.

“The coffee shop we went to after Bertholdt’s birthday, two hours from now.” Levi nodded and confirmed his affirmation to Eren before hanging up. He looks to Hanji and for a moment Levi doesn’t know how he feels, but he knows he’s feeling and that in itself is an accomplishment. Levi rushes upstairs and spends the next two hours doing his best to look alive, and when he fails he gives up.

The rain is relentless against the earth, the drops heavy and large. They batter against Levi’s car as he drives towards the cafe he had visited only once before. The drive was excruciating, the thought of seeing Eren outside of work was so incredibly raw in his mind that he was sure he held his breath from the moment he got in the car to the moment he parked it. Levi removed himself from the car, his black slacks as soaked as his previously pristine white shirt and black tie were. Levi rushed over the street, the rain continuing to pelt him, soaking him to the bone.

The world was dark and the cafe illuminated the darkness, a beacon in an otherwise grey world. Levi stopped his slow jog just outside of the cafe and searched the windows for a mop of brown hair and indescribable eyes. The moment Levi’s eyes fell on Eren, Eren’s eyes had fallen on Levi. Eren was dry and appeared warm and inviting, even with his hair looking dry and thin and his eyes looking heavy and tired. Levi on the other hand was cold and stand offish at best. In that moment of scrutinising how bad the other looked, it appeared as if the two had breathed for the first time in four weeks and Eren’s small smile and wave gave Levi enough hope and excitement that he gave his own breathtaking smile in response.

As soon as Levi had gathered the courage to, he made his way to the entrance of the cafe and came in with the rain still lingering over his head. Levi made a beeline to the table Eren was sitting at and plopped down, soaking.

“Did you go swimming before you came to see me?” Eren teased, and the sounds of his voice sounding so confident and sure made Levi want to pull Eren over the table and kiss him right there and then, made Levi want to beg for Eren’s forgiveness.

“Shut up.” His answering smile and roll of the eyes was enough to receive a small, nervous chuckle from Eren and Levi rested back into the leather chair, a small smile on his lips.

This wasn’t forgiveness and this was an agreement, but to Levi this was a chance and that was all he really needed, all he wanted to prove to Eren that his words said in the heat of the moment were not Levi’s true feelings on the matter. They were meant to hurt and that they did, for both of them. But this, this was a step in the right direction for them. This was a step towards being able to make everything better, to make everything okay again.

And that was all Levi ever really wanted; for everything to be okay.

“Something funny, brat?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO THIS IS IT?
> 
> THIS IS GOODBYE?
> 
> I GUESS?
> 
> WOW THIS HAS BEEN GREAT, LIKE BEYOND MAJESTIC AND I HAVE HAD SO MANY REGULAR PEOPLE COMMENTING THAT I CAN'T BELIEVE I WON'T SEE YOUR USERNAMES POP UP ANY MORE AND I'M GETTING EMOTIONAL.
> 
> I'm hoping within the next two weeks I will have gathered enough chapters to start posting happily for my next Fic.
> 
> It's been a joy<3


End file.
